U.S. patent number 6,095,083 [Application Number 08/892,300] was granted by the patent office on 2000-08-01 for vacuum processing chamber having multi-mode access.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Applied Materiels, Inc.. Invention is credited to Eric Askarinam, Kenneth S. Collins, Michael Rice, Gerhard Schneider.
United States Patent |
6,095,083 |
Rice , et al. |
August 1, 2000 |
Vacuum processing chamber having multi-mode access
Abstract
The case of maintainability and component replacement for a
vacuum processing chamber is enhanced by providing a vacuum chamber
roof assembly whose connection to the vacuum chamber body is
through a clamped connection. Accessories needed for the roof
assembly, e.g. cooling, heating, RF power, are separately supported
and terminated to an accessories supporting cold plate, which is
separately mounted such it is easily movable, for example by
hinging from the chamber body. The roof of the chamber can then
easily be separated from the chamber body and replaced. In an
further mode the chamber roof can be easily raised to provide easy
access to modular components inside the processing chamber. All
components exposed to the plasma in the chamber can be easily
accessed and replaced. Moreover, such access is provided without
the need to disconnect utilities or instrumentation, since the
release of a latch and pivoting the cold plate assembly away from
the chamber body upwards is all that is needed to gain access to
either the top of the roof of the processing chamber or the inside
of the chamber. Chamber roof cooling is provided through a
separable connection which is spring clamped to provide a high
confidence that uniform thermal conductivity across a clamped joint
is maintained.
Inventors: |
Rice; Michael (Pleasanton,
CA), Askarinam; Eric (Sunnyvale, CA), Schneider;
Gerhard (Cupertino, CA), Collins; Kenneth S. (San Jose,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Applied Materiels, Inc.
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
46203160 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/892,300 |
Filed: |
July 14, 1997 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
733555 |
Oct 21, 1996 |
|
|
|
|
648254 |
May 13, 1996 |
|
|
|
|
580026 |
Dec 20, 1995 |
|
|
|
|
041796 |
Apr 1, 1993 |
5556501 |
|
|
|
722340 |
Jun 27, 1991 |
5226932 |
|
|
|
503467 |
Jul 18, 1995 |
5770099 |
|
|
|
138060 |
Oct 15, 1993 |
5477975 |
|
|
|
597577 |
Feb 2, 1996 |
|
|
|
|
521668 |
Aug 31, 1995 |
|
|
|
|
289336 |
Aug 11, 1994 |
|
|
|
|
984045 |
Dec 1, 1992 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
118/723I;
118/715; 118/724; 118/733; 156/345.37; 156/345.48; 257/E21.252 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01J
37/32706 (20130101); H01J 37/32688 (20130101); H01L
21/31116 (20130101); H01L 21/6831 (20130101); C23C
16/517 (20130101); H01J 37/32082 (20130101); H01J
37/321 (20130101); H01J 37/32146 (20130101); H01J
37/32165 (20130101); H01J 37/32458 (20130101); H01J
37/32467 (20130101); H01J 37/32522 (20130101); H01J
37/32871 (20130101); H01J 2237/3343 (20130101); H01J
2237/3345 (20130101); H01J 2237/3346 (20130101); H01F
2029/143 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
21/67 (20060101); H01L 21/02 (20060101); H01J
37/32 (20060101); H01L 21/683 (20060101); H01L
21/311 (20060101); C23C 016/00 (); H05H
001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;156/345
;118/723I,723E,723IR,719,720 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Meeks; Timothy
Assistant Examiner: Hassanzadeh; P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Peters Verny Jones Biksa
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/733,555 filed Oct. 21, 1996 by Kenneth S.
Collins et al. entitled THERMAL CONTROL APPARATUS FOR INDUCTIVELY
COUPLED RF PLASMA REACTOR HAVING AN OVERHEAD SOLENOIDAL ANTENNA,
which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/648,254 filed May 13, 1996 by Kenneth S. Collins et al entitled
INDUCTIVELY COUPLED RF PLASMA REACTOR HAVING AN OVERHEAD SOLENOIDAL
ANTENNA, which is a continuation-in-part of the following U.S.
applications, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by
reference:
(a) Ser. No. 08/580,026 filed Dec. 20, 1995 by Kenneth S. Collins
et al. which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/041,796 filed Apr. 1,
1993 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,501) which is a continuation of Ser.
No. 07/722,340 filed Jun. 27, 1991 (now U.S. Pat. No.
5,226,932);
(b) Ser. No. 08/503,467 filed Jul. 18, 1995 (now U.S. Pat. No.
5,770,099) by Michael Rice et al. which is a divisional of Ser. No.
08/138,060 filed Oct. 15, 1993 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,975);
and
(c) Ser. No. 08/597,577 filed Feb. 2, 1996 by Kenneth Collins,
which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/521,668 filed Aug.
31, 1995 (now abandoned), which is a continuation-in-part of Ser.
No. 08/289,336 filed Aug. 11, 1994 (now abandoned), which is a
continuation of Ser. No. 07/984,045 filed Dec. 1, 1992 (now
abandoned). In addition, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/648,265 filed
May 13, 1996 by Kenneth S. Collins et al. (now U.S. Pat. No.
5,859,614) entitled PLASMA WITH HEATED SOURCE OF A
POLYMER-HARDENING PRECURSOR MATERIAL discloses related subject
matter.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A chamber for processing a workpiece having a multi-mode chamber
access configuration comprising:
a chamber body subunit including a pedestal defining a generally
flat surface for mounting workpiece to be processed;
a chamber roof subunit removably and sealingly engageable upon said
chamber body subunit, said roof subunit including a chamber roof
extending in spaced relationship to and along said pedestal
workpiece surface when engaged upon said chamber body subunit, said
roof subunit including at least one separator member extending
laterally away from said roof and away from said pedestal;
a cold plate subunit removably engageable with said at least one
separator member so as to be positioned in a spaced relationship
from said chamber roof;
a coil supported from said cold plate subunit so as to be
positionable adjacent said chamber roof, said coil accepting RF
power and capable of causing a plasma to be established in a gas
within said chamber by induction;
a hinge assembly peripherally mounting both said chamber roof
subunit and said cold plate subunit so as to move said cold plate
subunit independently of or together with said chamber roof subunit
about a hinge axis of rotation;
whereby in a first mode, both chamber roof and cold plate subunits
may be pivoted as a single assembly away from the chamber body
subunit for access to the interior of the chamber, and in a second
mode, the cold plate subunit may be pivoted away from the chamber
body subunit independently of the chamber roof subunit, to allow
the chamber roof subunit to be accessed or removed from the chamber
body subunit and cold plate subunit easily and immediately as to
allow access to cold plate and coil components normally facing the
roof subunit.
2. The chamber as in claim 1, in which said cold plate subunit is
adapted to accept fluid circulation lines for cooling and to mount
RF supply connectors to enable RF power to be transmitted to said
coil.
3. The chamber as in claim 1, in which said cold plate subunit
includes an array of heat lamps extending toward said chamber roof
when the cold plate and roof subunits are in engagement with the
chamber body subunit.
4. The chamber as in claim 1, in which the cold plate subunit
mounts a plurality of said coils.
5. The chamber of claim 1, which includes a plurality of said at
least one separator member in concentric arrays.
6. The chamber of claim 5 which further includes a plurality of
coils said coils being distributed and supported so as to lie
within or outside of said concentric arrays.
7. The chamber of claim 5, in which said separator members are of a
thermally conductive material.
8. The chamber of claim 1, in which said chamber roof is a silicon
material.
9. The chamber of claim 1, in which said separator members are a
silicon material.
10. The chamber of claim 1, in which a thermally compliant layer is
positioned between said at least one separator member and said cold
plate and is compressed therebetween for improved thermal
transmissibility.
11. A configuration for a plasma chamber comprising:
a plasma processing chamber roof sealed to and creating a portion
of a vacuum limit of the plasma processing chamber together with a
chamber body assembly;
a cold plate disposed approximately parallel to and offset from
said roof;
a plurality of thermally conductive members creating a thermal
bridge between the roof and the cold plate;
wherein the thermal bridge is detachably connected to either said
cold plate or said roof, such that when said cold plate is
separated from said roof, the roof and the space therebetween is
accessible.
12. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
the roof is made of a silicon based material.
13. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 12, wherein
the roof is made of a semiconducting material.
14. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 13, wherein
the roof is made of silicon carbide.
15. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
separation between the roof and the cold plate is as a result of
the cold plate being fixed to a hinge mechanism which cause the
cold plate as it is separated from said roof to hinge about a hinge
axis, wherein the hinge axis is fixed to said chamber body.
16. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
said series of thermally conductive members includes a ring.
17. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 16, wherein
said ring is fixed to said roof and is mated to said cold plate
through a compliant heat transfer material.
18. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 17, wherein
said compliant heat transfer material is Grafoil.
19. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
a coil which induces the plasma in the processing chamber is fixed
to and supported by the cold plate.
20. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
a set of heaters/lamps disposed to heat the chamber roof are
supported by the cold plate.
21. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 19, wherein
a set of heaters/lamps disposed to heat the chamber roof are
supported by the cold plate.
22. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
a thermal sensor for sensing the temperature of the chamber roof is
supported by the cold plate.
23. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
said thermally conductive members are urged into contact with said
cold plate by a set of spring members.
24. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 16, wherein
said thermally conductive members are urged into contact with said
cold plate by a set of spring members.
25. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 17, wherein
said thermally conductive members are urged into contact with said
cold plate by a set of spring members.
26. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 18, wherein
said thermally conductive members are urged into contact with said
cold plate by a set of spring members.
27. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
a lift ring can be selectively attached to an chamber roof
assembly, said lift ring when engaged with said chamber roof
assembly causing said roof to move with said cold plate as a
unit.
28. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 27, wherein
said cold plate is fixed through the chamber roof assembly to a
hinge mechanism which causes the cold plate, roof, and chamber roof
assembly as a unit to hinge about a hinge axis, wherein the hinge
axis is fixed to said chamber body.
29. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 28, wherein
utilities supplied to and supported by said cold plate, are
configured so that they do not have to be disconnected before the
cold plate, roof and chamber roof assembly is hinged about the
hinge axis.
30. The chamber as in claim 1, wherein said chamber roof assembly
is movable between first and second positions.
31. The chamber as in claim 30, wherein the movement of said
chamber roof is as a result of a hinge assembly supported on the
chamber body.
32. The configuration for a plasma chamber as in claim 11, wherein
the body chamber also includes a hinge mechanism having a hinge
axis around which chamber roof assembly is fixed and pivots.
33. An easy-maintenance vacuum processing chamber comprising:
a chamber body assembly;
a chamber roof assembly, including
a chamber roof sealingly engageable with said chamber body to form
a vacuum enclosure;
a utilities support assembly positionable over said roof including
a heat exchanging surface, and a coil accepting RF energy and
supported in electrical isolation upon said surface; and
a thermally transmissive spacer positionable between said heat
exchanging surface and roof, supporting said assembly upon said
roof and body and providing a heat transmission path between roof
and heat exchanging surface;
said utilities support assembly being removeable from said body
separately from said roof, said roof being thereupon removeable for
servicing of the roof or chamber interior without disassembly of
heat exchanging and RF functions.
34. A vacuum processing chamber as in claim 33, in which said
utilities support assembly comprises a cold plate.
35. A vacuum processing chamber as in claim 34, in which said
support assembly includes heat bulbs directing heat energy towards
said roof.
36. A chamber as in claim 33 which further includes a hinge
assembly pivotally mounting said utilities support assembly upon
said chamber body assembly so as to permit said utilities support
assembly to be pivoted away from said chamber body without
disturbing said roof.
37. A chamber as in claim 33 in which said utilities support
assembly and said roof are releasably joined together and pivoted
from said chamber body as an unit.
38. A chamber as in claim 33 in which said thermally transmissive
member is bonded to said roof so as to form a roof subunit, and in
which said utilities support assembly is removable separately from
said roof subunit.
39. A chamber as in claim 38 in which a plurality of said thermally
transmissive members are provided.
40. A chamber as in claim 33 in which said coil is supported upon
said heat exchanging surface so as to be positioned between and
spaced from said plurality of thermally transmissive members.
41. A chamber as in claim 39 which further includes a compressible
layer of thermally transmissive material between said heat
exchanging surface and thermally transmissive members.
42. A chamber as in claim 41 which further includes at least one
spring tensioner urging said utilites support assembly and said
thermally transmissive members together with said roof into
contact.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention is related to heating and cooling apparatus in an
inductively coupled RF plasma reactors of the type having a reactor
chamber ceiling overlying a workpiece being processed and an
inductive coil antenna adjacent the ceiling.
2. Background Art
In a plasma processing chamber, and especially in a high density
plasma processing chamber, RF (radio frequency) power is used to
generate and maintain a plasma within the processing chamber. As
disclosed in detail in the above-referenced applications, it is
often necessary to control temperatures of surfaces within the
process chamber, independent of time varying heat loads imposed by
processing conditions, or of other time varying boundary
conditions. In some cases where the window/electrode is a
semiconducting material, it may be necessary to control the
temperature or the window/electrode within a temperature range to
obtain the proper electrical properties of the window. Namely, for
the window/electrode to function simultaneously as a window and as
an electrode, the electrical resistivity is a function of
temperature for semiconductors, and the temperature of the
window/electrode is best operated within a range of temperatures.
The application of RF power to generate and maintain the plasma
leads to heating of surfaces within the chamber, including windows
(such as used for inductive or electromagnetic coupling of RF or
microwave power) or electrodes (such as used for capacitive or
electrostatic coupling of RF power, or for terminating or providing
a ground or return path for such capacitive or electrostatic
coupling of RF power) or for combination window/electrodes. Heating
of those surfaces can occur due to 1) ion or electron bombardment,
2) absorption of light emitted from excited species, 3) absorption
of power directly from the electromagnetic or electrostatic field,
4) radiation from other surfaces within the chamber, 5) conduction
(typically small effect at low neutral gas pressure), 6) convection
(typically small effect at low mass flow rates), 7) chemical
reaction (i.e. at the surface of the window or electrode due to
reaction with active species in plasma).
Depending on the process being performed with the plasma process
chamber, it may be necessary to heat the window or electrode to a
temperature above that temperature which the window or electrode
would reach due to internal sources of heat as described above, or
it may be necessary to cool the window or electrode to a
temperature below that temperature which the window or electrode
would reach due to internal sources of heat during some other
portion of the operating process or sequence of processes. In such
cases, a method for coupling heat into the window or electrode and
a method for coupling heat out of the window or electrode is
required.
Approaches for heating window/electrodes from outside the process
chamber include the following:
1. heating the window/electrode by an external source of radiation
(i.e., a lamp or radiant heater, or an inductive heat source),
2. heating the window/electrode by an external source of convection
(i.e. forced fluid, heated by radiation, conduction, or
convection),
3. heating the window/electrode by an external source of conduction
(i.e., a resistive heater).
The foregoing heating methods, without any means for cooling, limit
the temperature range available for window or electrode operation
to temperatures greater than the temperature which the window or
electrode would reach due to internal sources of heat alone.
Approaches for cooling window/electrodes from outside the process
chamber include the following:
1. cooling the window/electrode by radiation to a colder external
surface,
2. cooling the window/electrode by an external source of convection
(i.e., natural or forced),
3. cooling the window/electrode by conduction to an external heat
sink.
The foregoing cooling methods, without any means for heating other
than internal heat sources, limit the temperature range available
for window or electrode operation to temperatures less than that
temperature which the window or electrode would reach due to
internal sources of heat alone.
Additionally the foregoing cooling methods have the following
problems:
1. cooling the window/electrode by radiation is limited to low heat
transfer rates (which in many cases are insufficient for the window
or electrode temperature range required and the rate of internal
heating of window or electrodes) at low temperatures due to the
T.sup.4 dependence of radiation power, where T is the absolute
(Kelvin) temperature of the surface radiating or absorbing
heat;
2. cooling the window/electrode by an external source of convection
can provide large heat transfer rates by using a liquid with high
thermal conductivity, and high product of density & specific
heat when high flow rates are used, but liquid convection cooling
has the following problems:
A) it is limited to maximum temperature of operation by vapor
pressure dependence of liquid on temperature (i.e. boiling point)
(unless a phase change is allowed, which has its own problems--i.e.
fixed temperature of phase change--no control range, as well safety
issues),
B) incompatibility of liquid cooling with the electrical
environment, depending upon liquid electrical properties,
C) general integration issues with liquid in contact with reactor
structural elements. Cooling the window or electrode by an external
source of convection (e.g., a cooling gas) is limited to low heat
transfer rates which in many cases are insufficient for the window
or electrode temperature range required and the rate of internal
heating of window or electrodes;
3. cooling the window/electrode by conduction to an external heat
sink can provide high rates of heat transfer if the contact
resistance between the window or electrode and the heat sink is
sufficiently low, but low contact resistance is difficult to attain
in practice.
Approaches for both heating and cooling window/electrodes from
outside the process chamber include heating the window/electrode by
an external source of conduction (i.e., a resistive heater) in
combination with cooling the window/electrode by conduction to an
external heat sink. In one implementation, the structure is as
follows: a window or electrode has a heater plate (a plate with an
embedded resistive heater) adjacent an outer surface of the window
electrode. Additionally, a heat sink (typically liquid cooled) is
placed proximate the opposite side of the heater plate from the
window or electrode. Contact resistances are present between window
or electrode and heater plate, and between the heater plate and the
heat sink. In such a system integrated with automatic control of
window or electrode temperature, a temperature measurement is made
(continuously or periodically) of the window or electrode to be
controlled, the temperature measurement is compared with a set
point temperature, and based on the difference between the measured
and set point temperatures a controller determines through a
control algorithm how much power to apply to the resistive heater,
or alternatively, how much cooling to apply to the heat sink, and
the controller commands output transducers to output the determined
heating or cooling levels. The process is repeated (continuously or
periodically) until some desired degree of convergence of the
window or electrode temperature to the set point temperature has
occurs, and the control system remains active ready to respond to
changes in requirements of heating or cooling levels due to changes
in internal heat or cooling levels or to changes in the set point
temperature. Besides contact resistance problems that limit the
cooling capability of the system to control the temperature of the
window or electrode, the system exhibits a time lag in transferring
heat from the window or electrode to the head sink as required when
the internal heating or cooling load changes during plasma reactor
operation. This is due in part to the contact resistance between
the window or electrode and the heater, and contact resistance
between the heater and the heat sink, as well as the thermal
capacitance of the heater and the window or electrode. For example,
as the internal heat load is increased in a process or sequence of
processes, the system senses the increase by measuring an increase
in window or electrode temperature. As described above, the system
reduces the heater power or increases the cooling power in response
to the increase in window or electrode temperature, but there is a
lag time for the heat to diffuse through the window or electrode,
across the contact resistance between window or electrode and
heater, through the heater plate, across the contact resistance
between the heater and heat sink. In addition, "excess" heat energy
"stored" in the heater diffuses across the contact resistance
between the heater and heat sink. This lag causes more difficulty
in controlling the temperature of the window or electrode as the
internal heat or cooling load changes, typically resulting in some
oscillation of the window or electrode temperature about the set
point.
A further problem for a window or window/electrode (of the type
that allows electromagnetic or inductive RF or microwave power to
be coupled from outside the chamber to inside the chamber via the
window or window/electrode) is that the presence of heat transfer
apparatus (heater and/or heat sinks) interferes with the coupling
of such electromagnetic or inductive RF or microwave power, and/or
the presence of RF or microwave power coupling apparatus may
interfere with heat transfer between heater and/or heat sink and
window or window/electrode.
Thus a method is sought for heating and/or cooling a window or
electrode or window electrode used in a plasma processing chamber
so that the temperature of the window or electrode or
window/electrode may be controlled sufficiently close to a set
point such that a desired process or sequence of processes may be
carried out within the plasma process chamber, independent of the
change of internal heating or cooling loads within the chamber or
changes in other boundary conditions.
Additionally, a method is sought for heating and/or cooling a
window or window/electrode used in a plasma processing chamber so
that the temperature of the window or electrode or window/electrode
may be controlled sufficiently close to a set point temperature,
without interference to coupling of electromagnetic or inductive RF
or microwave power through the window or window/electrode such that
a desired process or sequence of processes may be carried out
within the plasma process chamber, independent of the change of
internal heating or cooling loads within the chamber or changes in
other boundary conditions.
Additionally, a method is sought for heating and/or cooling an
electrode or window/electrode used in a plasma processing chamber
so that the temperature of the electrode or window/electrode may be
controlled sufficiently close to a set point temperature, without
interfering with capacitive or electrostatic coupling of RF power,
or interfering with terminating or providing a ground or return
path for such capacitive or electrostatic coupling of RF power,
such that a desired process or sequence of processes may be carried
out within the plasma process chamber, independent of the change of
internal heating or cooling loads within the chamber or changes in
other boundary conditions.
Additionally, a method is sought for heating and/or cooling a
window or electrode or window/electrode used in a plasma processing
chamber so that the temperature of the electrode or
window/electrode may be controlled sufficiently close to a set
point temperature, without interfering with capacitive or
electrostatic coupling of RF power, or interfering with terminating
or providing a ground or return path for such capacitive or
electrostatic coupling RF power, and without interfering with
coupling of electromagnetic or inductive RF or microwave power
through the window or window/electrode such that a desired process
or sequence of processes may be carried out within the plasma
process chamber, independent of the change of internal heating or
cooling loads within the chamber or changes in other boundary
conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A configuration according to the invention includes a chamber for
processing a workpiece having a multi-mode chamber service access
configuration. The chamber has body subunit with a pedestal
defining a generally flat surface for mounting workpiece to be
processed, a chamber roof subunit removably and sealingly
engageable upon the chamber body subunit, the roof subunit
including a chamber roof extending in spaced relationship to and
along the pedestal workpiece surface when engaged upon the chamber
body subunit, the roof subunit including at least one extension
(separator) member extending laterally away from the roof and away
from the pedestal. The chamber also includes a cold plate subunit
removably engageable with the at least one extension (separator)
member so as to be positioned in a spaced relationship from the
chamber roof, a coil supported from the cold plate subunit so as to
be positionable adjacent the chamber roof, the coil accepting RF
power and capable of causing a plasma to be established in a gas
within the chamber by induction, a hinge assembly peripherally
mounting both the chamber roof subunit and the cold plate subunit
so as to move the cold plate subunit independently of or together
with the chamber roof subunit about a hinge axis of rotation. In a
first mode, both chamber roof and cold plate subunits may be
pivoted as a single assembly away from the chamber body subunit for
access to the interior of the chamber. In a second mode, the cold
plate subunit may be pivoted away from the chamber body subunit
independently of the chamber roof subunit, to allow the chamber
roof subunit to be accessed or removed from the chamber body
subunit and cold plate subunit easily and immediately as well as
well as to allow access to cold plate and coil components normally
facing the roof subunit. The cold plate subunit is adapted to
accept fluid circulation lines for cooling fluid and to mount RF
supply connectors to enable RF power to be transmitted to the coil.
The cold plate subunit includes an array of heat lamps extending
toward the chamber roof when the cold plate and roof subunits are
in engagement with the chamber body subunit. The cold plate subunit
can mount a plurality of the coils. The chamber may include a
plurality of the extension (separator) members in concentric
arrays. The plurality of coils the coils may be distributed and
supported so as to lie within or outside of the concentric arrays.
The extension (separator) members are made of a thermally
conductive material. The chamber roof may be a silicon material.
The extension (separator) members may be a silicon material. A
layer of a thermally compliant material may be positioned between
the extension (separator) member and the cold plate and may be
compressed therebetween for improved thermal transmissibility.
In an alternative aspect of the invention, a configuration for a
plasma chamber may include a plasma processing chamber roof sealed
to and creating a portion of a vacuum limit of the plasma
processing chamber together with a chamber body assembly; a cold
plate disposed approximately parallel to and offset from the roof;
a plurality of thermally conductive members creating a thermal
bridge between the roof and the cold plate; wherein the thermal
bridge is detachably connected to either the cold plate or the
roof, such that when the cold plate is separated from the roof, the
roof is immediately accessible, as well as the space therebetween.
The chamber may also include a hinge mechanism. The roof may be
made of a silicon based material. The separation between the roof
and the cold plate may be as a result of the cold plate being fixed
to a hinge mechanism which causes the cold plate as it is separated
from the roof to hinge about a hinge axis, wherein the hinge axis
is fixed to the chamber body. The plurality of thermally conductive
members may form a ring which may be fixed to the chamber roof and
may be mated to the cold plate through a compliant heat transfer
material. The compliant heat transfer material may be Grafoil. The
chamber may include a coil which induces the plasma in the
processing chamber and is fixed to and supported by the cold plate.
The set of heaters/lamps disposed to heat the chamber roof may be
supported by the cold plate. A thermal sensor for sensing the
temperature of the chamber roof may be supported by the cold plate.
The thermally conductive members may be urged into contact with the
cold plate by a set of spring members. A lift ring can be
selectively attached to an chamber roof assembly, the lift ring
when engaged with the chamber body causes the roof to move with the
cold plate as a unit. The cold plate is fixed through the chamber
body to a hinge mechanism which causes the cold plate and roof as a
unit to hinge about a hinge axis, wherein the hinge axis is fixed
to the chamber body. The utilities supplied to and supported by the
cold plate, are configured so that they do not have to be
disconnected before the cold plate and roof is hinged about the
hinge axis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cut-away side view of an inductively coupled plasma
reactor of the type employed in a co-pending U.S. patent
application referred to above employing generally planar coil
antennas.
FIG. 2 is a log-log scale graph of induction field skin depth in a
plasma in cm (solid line) and of electron-to-neutral elastic
collision mean free path length (dashed line) as functions of
pressure in torr (horizontal axis).
FIG. 3A is a graph of plasma ion density as a function of radial
position
relative to the workpiece center in the reactor of FIG. 1 for a
workpiece-to-ceiling height of 4 inches, the curves labelled A and
B corresponding to plasma ion densities produced by outer and inner
coil antennas respectively.
FIG. 3B is a graph of plasma ion density as a function of radial
position relative to the workpiece center in the reactor of FIG. 1
for a workpiece-to-ceiling height of 3 inches, the curves labelled
A and B corresponding to plasma ion densities produced by outer and
inner coil antennas respectively.
FIG. 3C is a graph of plasma ion density as a function of radial
position relative to the workpiece center in the reactor of FIG. 1
for a workpiece-to-ceiling height of 2.5 inches, the curves
labelled A and B corresponding to plasma ion densities produced by
outer and inner coil antennas respectively.
FIG. 3D is a graph of plasma ion density as a function of radial
position relative to the workpiece center in the reactor of FIG. 1
for a workpiece-to-ceiling height of 1.25 inches, the curves
labelled A and B corresponding to plasma ion densities produced by
outer and inner coil antennas respectively.
FIG. 3E is a graph of plasma ion density as a function of radial
position relative to the workpiece center in the reactor of FIG. 1
for a workpiece-to-ceiling height of 0.8 inches, the curves
labelled A and B corresponding to plasma ion densities produced by
outer and inner coil antennas respectively.
FIG. 4A is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor employing a
single three-dimensional center non-planar solenoid winding.
FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a portion of the reactor of FIG. 4A
illustrating a preferred way of winding the solenoidal winding.
FIG. 4C is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 4A but having a dome-shaped ceiling.
FIG. 4D is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 4A but having a conical ceiling.
FIG. 4E is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 4D but having a truncated conical ceiling.
FIG. 5 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor employing inner
and outer vertical solenoid windings.
FIG. 6 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding to
FIG. 5 in which the outer winding is flat.
FIG. 7A is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 4 in which the center solenoid winding consists of plural
upright cylindrical windings.
FIG. 7B is a detailed view of a first implementation of the
embodiment of FIG. 7A.
FIG. 7C is a detailed view of a second implementation of the
embodiment of FIG. 7A.
FIG. 8 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding to
FIG. 5 in which both the inner and outer windings consist of plural
upright cylindrical windings.
FIG. 9 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding to
FIG. 5 in which the inner winding consists of plural upright
cylindrical windings and the outer winding consists of a single
upright cylindrical winding.
FIG. 10 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor in which a
single solenoid winding is placed at an optimum radial position for
maximum plasma ion density uniformity.
FIG. 11 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 4 in which the solenoid winding is an inverted conical
shape.
FIG. 12 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 4 in which the solenoid winding is an upright conical
shape.
FIG. 13 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor in which the
solenoid winding consists of an inner upright cylindrical portion
and an outer flat portion.
FIG. 14 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 10 in which the solenoid winding includes both an inverted
conical portion and a flat portion.
FIG. 15 is a cut-away side view of a plasma reactor corresponding
to FIG. 12 in which the solenoid winding includes both an upright
conical portion and a flat portion.
FIG. 16 illustrates a combination of planar, conical and
dome-shaped ceiling elements.
FIG. 17A illustrates a separately biased silicon side wall and
ceiling and employing electrical heaters.
FIG. 17B illustrates separately biased inner and outer silicon
ceiling portions and employing electrical heaters.
FIG. 18 is a cut-away cross-sectional view illustrating a first
embodiment of the plasma reactor having a thermally conductive gas
interface at each face of the thermally conductive torus of FIG.
5.
FIG. 19 is a cut-away cross-sectional view illustrating a second
embodiment of the plasma reactor having a thermally conductive gas
interface at the one face of a thermally conductive torus
integrally formed with the semiconductor window electrode.
FIG. 20 is a cut-away cross-sectional view illustrating a third
embodiment of the plasma reactor having a thermally conductive
solid interface material at each face of the thermally conductive
torus of FIG. 5.
FIG. 21 is a cut-away cross-sectional view illustrating a fourth
embodiment of the plasma reactor having a thermally conductive
solid interface material at the one face of a thermally conductive
torus integrally formed with the semiconductor window
electrode.
FIG. 22 is a cut-away cross-sectional view illustrating a fifth
embodiment of the plasma reactor in which the disposable
silicon-containing ring of FIG. 5 is cooled by a cold plate with a
thermally conductive gas interface between the cold plate and the
disposable silicon ring.
FIG. 23 is a cut-away cross-sectional view illustrating a sixth
embodiment of the plasma reactor in which the disposable
silicon-containing ring of FIG. 5 is cooled by a cold plate with a
thermally conductive solid interface material between the cold
plate and the disposable silicon ring.
FIG. 24 illustrates a seventh embodiment of the plasma reactor in
which the chamber wall and an interior chamber liner are cooled
using a thermally conductive gas in the interfaces across the heat
conduction paths.
FIG. 25 illustrates a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 24 in
which the interfaces are each filled with a solid thermally
conductive layer instead of the thermally conductive gas.
FIG. 26 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 22 in which the ring is
electrostatically clamped to seal the thermally conductive gas.
FIG. 27 illustrates a plasma reactor embodying different aspects of
the plasma reactor including modular plasma confinement magnet
liners.
FIG. 28 is an enlarged view of a portion of a modular plasma
confinement magnet liner, illustrating how a magnet is sealed
within the liner.
FIG. 29 illustrates a heated silicon ring employed in the reactor
of FIG. 27 having a slit therethrough to permit thermal
expansion.
FIG. 30 illustrates an inductive antenna employed in the reactor of
FIG. 27 having a uniform number of effective windings around its
azimuth.
FIGS. 31A-31E illustrates different magnetic orientations for pairs
of plasma confinement magnets employed in the reactor of FIG.
27.
FIG. 32 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment according
the invention with the chamber roof assembly, including a chamber
roof, with the roof assembly separated from the chamber body, the
internal surfaces including the inside of the chamber roof being
exposed.
FIG. 33 is a schematic perspective view of the embodiment of the
invention shown in FIG. 32, however in this view the chamber roof
(its outside being observable) is still in place and the heat
lamps, sensors, and coils attached to the chamber roof assembly can
be observed.
FIG. 34 shows a top schematic view of a cold plate subassembly
comprising a part of the chamber roof assembly with the cold plate
subassembly supporting the heat lamps, induction coils, and thermal
sensors.
FIG. 35 shows a partial cross sectional view of a chamber according
to the invention showing the sealing arrangement at the edge of the
chamber between the chamber roof and body assemblies, with a
schematic representation of the hinged connection between these
assemblies.
FIG. 36 is a schematic cross sectional view of a chamber according
to the invention showing the interrelationship of pieces adjacent
to the chamber roof and their support from the chamber body in a
configuration where the where the chamber roof assembly is in a
closed position with respect to the chamber body.
FIG. 37 is a schematic cross sectional view of the configuration of
FIG. 36, where the chamber roof is left in position while the
chamber roof assembly and cold plate subassembly or subunit is
hinged away from the chamber body.
FIG. 38 is a schematic cross sectional view of the chamber roof
assembly of FIG. 36, showing the attachment of a lift ring for
lifting the chamber roof in this configuration.
FIG. 39 is a schematic cross sectional view of a chamber body
according to the invention where a lifting motion of the chamber
roof has begun, by the upward motion of the chamber roof assembly,
however the upward motion of the chamber roof assembly has caused
the gap between the lift ring and chamber roof to be reduced,
without any motion of the roof, while further upward motion will
cause the chamber roof to move (hinge) upward.
FIG. 40 is a schematic cross section showing the progression of
lifting (hinging) as the chamber roof assembly along with the cold
plate subassembly or subunit and chamber roof, together hinge
upwards.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Disclosure of the Parent Application:
In a plasma reactor having a small antenna-to-workpiece gap, in
order to minimize the decrease in plasma ion density near the
center region of the workpiece corresponding to the inductive
antenna pattern center null, it is an object of the invention to
increase the magnitude of the induced electric field at the center
region. The invention accomplishes this by concentrating the turns
of an inductive coil overlying the ceiling near the axis of
symmetry of the antenna and maximizing the rate of change (at the
RF source frequency) of magnetic flux linkage between the antenna
and the plasma in that center region.
In accordance with the invention, a solenoidal coil around the
symmetry axis simultaneously concentrates its inductive coil turns
near the axis and maximizes the rate of change of magnetic flux
linkage between the antenna and the plasma in the center region
adjacent the workpiece. This is because the number of turns is
large and the coil radius is small, as required for strong flux
linkage and close mutual coupling to the plasma in the center
region. (In contrast, a conventional planar coil antenna spreads
its inductive field over a wide radial area, pushing the radial
power distribution outward toward the periphery.) As understood in
this specification, a solenoid-like antenna is one which has plural
inductive elements distributed in a non-planar manner relative to a
plane of the workpiece or workpiece support surface or overlying
chamber ceiling, or spaced at different distances transversely to
the workpiece support plane (defined by a workpiece supporting
pedestal within the chamber) or spaced at different distances
transversely to an overlying chamber ceiling. As understood in this
specification, an inductive element is a current-carrying element
mutually inductively coupled with the plasma in the chamber and/or
with other inductive elements of the antenna.
A preferred embodiment of the invention includes dual solenoidal
coil antennas with one solenoid near the center and another one at
an outer peripheral radius. The two solenoids may be driven at
different RF frequencies or at the same frequency, in which case
they are preferably phase-locked and more preferably phase-locked
in such a manner that their fields constructively interact. The
greatest practical displacement between the inner and outer
solenoid is preferred because it provides the most versatile
control of etch rate at the workpiece center relative to etch rate
at the workpiece periphery. The skilled worker may readily vary RF
power, chamber pressure and electro-negativity of the process gas
mixture (by choosing the appropriate ratio of molecular and inert
gases) to obtain a wider range or process window in which to
optimize (using the plasma reactor) the radial uniformity of the
etch rate across the workpiece. Maximum spacing between the
separate inner and outer solenoids of the preferred embodiment
provides the following advantages:
(1) maximum uniformity control and adjustment;
(2) maximum isolation between the inner and outer solenoids,
preventing interference of the field from one solenoid with that of
the other; and
(3) maximum space on the ceiling (between the inner and outer
solenoids) for temperature control elements to optimize ceiling
temperature control.
FIG. 4A illustrates a single solenoid embodiment (not the preferred
embodiment) of an inductively coupled RF plasma reactor having a
short workpiece-to-ceiling gap, meaning that the skin depth of the
induction field is on the order of the gap length. As understood in
this specification, a skin depth which is on the order of the gap
length is that which is within a factor of ten of (i.e., between
about one tenth and about ten times) the gap length.
FIG. 5 illustrates a dual solenoid embodiment of an inductively
coupled RF plasma reactor, and is the preferred embodiment of the
invention. Except for the dual solenoid feature, the reactor
structure of the embodiments of FIGS. 4A and 5 is nearly the same,
and will now be described with reference to FIG. 4A. The reactor
includes a cylindrical chamber 40 similar to that of FIG. 1, except
that the reactor of FIG. 4A has a non-planar coil antenna 42 whose
windings 44 are closely concentrated in non-planar fashion near the
antenna symmetry axis 46. While in the illustrated embodiment the
windings 44 are symmetrical and their symmetry axis 46 coincides
with the center axis of the chamber, the invention may be carried
out differently. For example, the windings may not be symmetrical
and/or their axis of symmetry may not coincide. However, in the
case of a symmetrical antenna, the antenna has a radiation pattern
null near its symmetry axis 46 coinciding with the center of the
chamber or the workpiece center. Close concentration of the
windings 44 about the center axis 46 compensates for this null and
is accomplished by vertically stacking the windings 44 in the
manner of a solenoid so that they are each a minimum distance from
the chamber center axis 46. This increases the product of current
(I) and coil turns (N) near the chamber center axis 46 where the
plasma ion density has been the weakest for short
workpiece-to-ceiling heights, as discussed above with reference to
FIGS. 3D and 3E. As a result, the RF power applied to the
non-planar coil antenna 42 produces greater induction
[d/dt][N.multidot.I] at the wafer center--at the antenna symmetry
axis 46--(relative to the peripheral regions) and therefore
produces greater plasma ion density in that region, so that the
resulting plasma ion density is more nearly uniform despite the
small workpiece-to-ceiling height. Thus, the invention provides a
way for reducing the ceiling height for enhanced plasma process
performance without sacrificing process uniformity.
The drawing of FIG. 4B best shows a preferred implementation of the
windings employed in the embodiments of FIGS. 4A and 5. In order
that the windings 44 be at least nearly parallel to the plane of
the workpiece 56, they preferably are not wound in the usual manner
of a helix but, instead, are preferably wound so that each
individual turn is parallel to the (horizontal) plane of the
workpiece 56 except at a step or transition 44a between turns (from
one horizontal plane to the next).
The cylindrical chamber 40 consists of a cylindrical side wall 50
and a circular ceiling 52 integrally formed with the side wall 50
so that the side wall 50 and ceiling 52 constitute a single piece
of material, such as silicon. However, the invention may be carried
out with the side wall 50 and ceiling 52 formed as separate pieces,
as will be described later in this specification. The circular
ceiling 52 may be of any suitable cross-sectional shape such as
planar (FIG. 4A), dome (FIG. 4C), conical (FIG. 4D), truncated
conical (FIG. 4E), cylindrical or any combination of such shapes or
curve of rotation. Such a combination will be discussed
later in this specification. Generally the vertical pitch of the
solenoid 42 (i.e., its vertical height divided by its horizontal
width) exceeds the vertical pitch of the ceiling 52, even for
ceilings defining 3-dimensional surfaces such as dome, conical,
truncated conical and so forth. The purpose for this, at least in
the preferred embodiment, is to concentrate the induction of the
antenna near the antenna symmetry axis, as discussed previously in
this specification. A solenoid having a pitch exceeding that of the
ceiling is referred to herein as a non-conformal solenoid, meaning
that, in general, its shape does not conform with the shape of the
ceiling, and more specifically that its vertical pitch exceeds the
vertical pitch of the ceiling. A 2-dimensional or flat ceiling has
a vertical pitch of zero, while a 3-dimensional ceiling has a
non-zero vertical pitch.
A pedestal 54 at the bottom of the chamber 40 supports a planar
workpiece 56 in a workpiece support plane during processing. The
workpiece 56 is typically a semiconductor wafer and the workpiece
support plane is generally the plane of the wafer or workpiece 56.
The chamber 40 is evacuated by a pump (not shown in the drawing)
through an annular passage 58 to a pumping annulus 60 surrounding
the lower portion of the chamber 40. The interior of the pumping
annulus may be lined with a replaceable metal liner 60a. The
annular passage 58 is defined by the bottom edge 50a of the
cylindrical side wall 50 and a planar ring 62 surrounding the
pedestal 54. Process gas is furnished into the chamber 40 through
any one or all of a variety of gas feeds. In order to control
process gas flow near the workpiece center, a center gas feed 64a
can extend downwardly through the center of the ceiling 52 toward
the center of the workpiece 56 (or the center of the workpiece
support plane). In order to control gas flow near the workpiece
periphery (or near the periphery of the workpiece support plane),
plural radial gas feeds 64b, which can be controlled independently
of the center gas feed 64a, extend radially inwardly from the side
wall 50 toward the workpiece periphery (or toward the workpiece
support plane periphery), or base axial gas feeds 64c extend
upwardly from near the pedestal 54 toward the workpiece periphery,
or ceiling axial gas feeds 64d can extend downwardly from the
ceiling 52 toward the workpiece periphery. Etch rates at the
workpiece center and periphery can be adjusted independently
relative to one another to achieve a more radially uniform etch
rate distribution across the workpiece by controlling the process
gas flow rates toward the workpiece center and periphery through,
respectively, the center gas feed 64a and any one of the outer gas
feeds 64b-d. This feature of the invention can be carried out with
the center gas feed 64a and only one of the peripheral gas feeds
64b-d.
The solenoidal coil antenna 42 is wound around a housing 66
surrounding the center gas feed 64. A plasma source RF power supply
68 is connected across the coil antenna 42 and a bias RF power
supply 70 is connected to the pedestal 54.
Confinement of the overhead coil antenna 42 to the center region of
the ceiling 52 leaves a large portion of the top surface of the
ceiling 52 unoccupied and therefore available for direct contact
with temperature control apparatus including, for example, plural
radiant heaters 72 such as tungsten halogen lamps and a
water-cooled cold plate 74 which may be formed of copper or
aluminum for example, with coolant passages 74a extending
therethrough. Preferably the coolant passages 74a contain a coolant
of a known variety having a high thermal conductivity but a low
electrical conductivity, to avoid electrically loading down the
antenna or solenoid 42. The cold plate 74 provides constant cooling
of the ceiling 52 while the maximum power of the radiant heaters 72
is selected so as to be able to overwhelm, if necessary, the
cooling by the cold plate 74, facilitating responsive and stable
temperature control of the ceiling 52. The large ceiling area
irradiated by the heaters 72 provides greater uniformity and
efficiency of temperature control. (It should be noted that radiant
heating is not necessarily required in carrying out the invention,
and the skilled worker may choose to employ an electric heating
element instead, as will be described later in this specification.)
If the ceiling 52 is silicon, as disclosed in co-pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 08/597,577 filed Feb. 2, 1996 by Kenneth S.
Collins et al., then there is a significant advantage to be gained
by thus increasing the uniformity and efficiency of the temperature
control across the ceiling. Specifically, where a polymer precursor
and etchant precursor process gas (e.g., a fluorocarbon gas) is
employed and where it is desirable to scavenge the etchant (e.g.,
fluorine), the rate of polymer deposition across the entire ceiling
52 and/or the rate at which the ceiling 52 furnishes a fluorine
etchant scavenger material (silicon) into the plasma is better
controlled by increasing the contact area of the ceiling 52 with
the temperature control heater 72. The solenoid antenna 42
increases the available contact area on the ceiling 52 because the
solenoid windings 44 are concentrated at the center axis of the
ceiling 52.
The increase in available area on the ceiling 52 for thermal
contact is exploited in a preferred implementation by a highly
thermally conductive torus 75 (formed of a ceramic such as aluminum
nitride, aluminum oxide or silicon nitride or of a non-ceramic like
silicon or silicon carbide either lightly doped or undoped) whose
bottom surface rests on the ceiling 52 and whose top surface
supports the cold plate 74. One feature of the torus 75 is that it
displaces the cold plate 74 well-above the top of the solenoid 42.
This feature substantially mitigates or nearly eliminates the
reduction in inductive coupling between the solenoid 42 and the
plasma which would otherwise result from a close proximity of the
conductive plane of the cold plate 74 to the solenoid 42. In order
to prevent such a reduction in inductive coupling, it is preferable
that the distance between the cold plate 74 and the top winding of
the solenoid 42 be at least a substantial fraction (e.g., one half)
of the total height of the solenoid 42. Plural axial holes 75a
extending through the torus 75 are spaced along two concentric
circles and hold the plural radiant heaters or lamps 72 and permit
them to directly irradiate the ceiling 52. For greatest lamp
efficiency, the hole interior surface may be lined with a
reflective (e.g., aluminum) layer. The center gas feed 64a of FIG.
4 may be replaced by a radiant heater 72 (as shown in FIG. 5),
depending upon the particular reactor design and process
conditions. The ceiling temperature is sensed by a sensor such as a
thermocouple 76 extending through one of the holes 75a not occupied
by a lamp heater 72. For good thermal contact, a highly thermally
conductive elastomer 73 such as silicone rubber impregnated with
boron nitride is placed between the ceramic torus 75 and the copper
cold plate 74 and between the ceramic torus 75 and the silicon
ceiling 52.
As disclosed in the above-referenced co-pending application, the
chamber 40 may be an all-semiconductor chamber, in which case the
ceiling 52 and the side wall 50 are both a semiconductor material
such as silicon or silicon carbide. As described in the
above-referenced co-pending application, controlling the
temperature of, and RF bias power applied to, either the ceiling 52
or the wall 50 regulates the extent to which it furnishes fluorine
scavenger precursor material (silicon) into the plasma or,
alternatively, the extent to which it is coated with polymer. The
material of the ceiling 52 is not limited to silicon but may be, in
the alternative, silicon carbide, silicon dioxide (quartz), silicon
nitride, aluminum nitride or a ceramic such as aluminum oxide.
As described in the above-referenced co-pending application, the
chamber wall or ceiling 50, 52 need not be used as the source of a
fluorine scavenger material. Instead, a disposable semiconductor
(e.g., silicon or silicon carbide) member can be placed inside the
chamber 40 and maintained at a sufficiently high temperature to
prevent polymer condensation thereon and permit silicon material to
be removed therefrom into the plasma as fluorine scavenging
material. In this case, the wall 50 and ceiling 52 need not
necessarily be silicon, or if they are silicon they may be
maintained at a temperature (and/or RF bias) near or below the
polymer condensation temperature (and/or a polymer condensation RF
bias threshold) so that they are coated with polymer from the
plasma so as to be protected from being consumed. While the
disposable silicon member may take any appropriate form, in the
embodiment of FIG. 4 the disposable silicon member is an annular
ring 62 surrounding the pedestal 54. Preferably, the annular ring
62 is high purity silicon and may be doped to alter its electrical
or optical properties. In order to maintain the silicon ring 62 at
a sufficient temperature to ensure its favorable participation in
the plasma process (e.g., its contribution of silicon material into
the plasma for fluorine scavenging), plural radiant (e.g., tungsten
halogen lamp) heaters 77 arranged in a circle under the annular
ring 62 heat the silicon ring 62 through a quartz window 78. As
described in the above-referenced co-pending application, the
heaters 77 are controlled in accordance with the measured
temperature of the silicon ring 62 sensed by a temperature sensor
79 which may be a remote sensor such as an optical pyrometer or a
fluoro-optical probe. The sensor 79 may extend partially into a
very deep hole 62a in the ring 62, the deepness and narrowness of
the hole tending at least partially to mask temperature-dependent
variations in thermal emissivity of the silicon ring 62, so that it
behaves more like a gray-body radiator for more reliable
temperature measurement.
As described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/597,577 referred to
above, an advantage of an all-semiconductor chamber is that the
plasma is free of contact with contaminant producing materials such
as metal, for example. For this purpose, plasma confinement magnets
80, 82 adjacent the annular opening 58 prevent or reduce plasma
flow into the pumping annulus 60. To the extent any polymer
precursor and/or active species succeeds in entering the pumping
annulus 60, any resulting polymer or contaminant deposits on the
replaceable interior liner 60a may be prevented from re-entering
the plasma chamber 40 by maintaining the liner 60a at a temperature
significantly below the polymer condensation temperature, for
example, as disclosed in the referenced co-pending application.
A wafer slit valve 84 through the exterior wall of the pumping
annulus 60 accommodates wafer ingress and egress. The annular
opening 58 between the chamber 40 and pumping annulus 60 is larger
adjacent the wafer slit valve 84 and smallest on the opposite side
by virtue of a slant of the bottom edge of the cylindrical side
wall 50 so as to make the chamber pressure distribution more
symmetrical with a non-symmetrical pump port location.
Maximum mutual inductance near the chamber center axis 46 is
achieved by the vertically stacked solenoidal windings 44. In the
embodiment of FIG. 4, another winding 45 outside of the vertical
stack of windings 44 but in the horizontal plane of the bottom
solenoidal winding 44a may be added, provided the additional
winding 45 is close to the bottom solenoidal winding 44a.
Referring specifically now to the preferred dual solenoid
embodiment of FIG. 5, a second outer vertical stack or solenoid 120
of windings 122 at an outer location (i.e, against the outer
circumferential surface of the thermally conductive torus 75) is
displaced by a radial distance 6R from the inner vertical stack of
solenoidal windings 44. Note that in FIG. 5 confinement of the
inner solenoidal antenna 42 to the center and the outer solenoidal
antenna 120 to the periphery leaves a large portion of the top
surface of the ceiling 52 available for direct contact with the
temperature control apparatus 72, 74, 75, as in FIG. 4A. An
advantage is that the larger surface area contact between the
ceiling 52 and the temperature control apparatus provides a more
efficient and more uniform temperature control of the ceiling
52.
For a reactor in which the side wall and ceiling are formed of a
single piece of silicon for example with an inside diameter of 12.6
in (32 cm), the wafer-to-ceiling gap is 3 in (7.5 cm), and the mean
diameter of the inner solenoid was 3.75 in (9.3 cm) while the mean
diameter of the outer solenoid was 11.75 in (29.3 cm) using 3/16 in
diameter hollow copper tubing covered with a 0.03 thick teflon
insulation layer, each solenoid consisting of four turns and being
1 in (2.54 cm) high. The outer stack or solenoid 120 is energized
by a second independently controllable plasma source RF power
supply 96. The purpose is to permit different user-selectable
plasma source power levels to be applied at different radial
locations relative to the workpiece or wafer 56 to permit
compensation for known processing non-uniformities across the wafer
surface, a significant advantage. In combination with the
independently controllable center gas feed 64a and peripheral gas
feeds 64b-d, etch performance at the workpiece center may be
adjusted relative to etch performance at the edge by adjusting the
RF power applied to the inner solenoid 42 relative to that applied
to the outer solenoid 90 and adjusting the gas flow rate through
the center gas feed 64a relative to the flow rate through the outer
gas feeds 64b-d. While the plasma reactor solves or at least
ameliorates the problem of a center null or dip in the inductance
field as described above, there may be other plasma processing
non-uniformity problems, and these can be compensated in the
versatile embodiment of FIG. 5 by adjusting the relative RF power
levels applied to the inner and outer antennas. For effecting this
purpose with greater convenience, the respective RF power supplies
68, 96 for the inner and outer solenoids 42, 90 may be replaced by
a common power supply 97a and a power splitter 97b which permits
the user to change the relative apportionment of power between the
inner and outer solenoids 42, 90 while preserving a fixed phase
relationship between the fields of the inner and outer solenoids
42, 90. This is particularly important where the two solenoids 42,
90 receive RF power at the same frequency. Otherwise, if the two
independent power supplies 68, 96 are employed, then they may be
powered at different RF frequencies, in which case it is preferable
to install RF filters at the output of each RF power supply 68, 96
to avoid off-frequency feedback from coupling between the two
solenoids. In this case, the frequency difference should be
sufficient to time-average out coupling between the two solenoids
and, furthermore, should exceed the rejection bandwidth of the RF
filters. A preferred mode is to make each frequency independently
resonantly matched to the respective solenoid, and each frequency
may be varied to follow changes in the plasma impedance (thereby
maintaining resonance) in lieu of conventional impedance matching
techniques. In other words, the RF frequency applied to the antenna
is made to follow the resonant frequency of the antenna as loaded
by the impedance of the plasma in the chamber. In such
implementations, the frequency ranges of the two solenoids should
be mutually exclusive. In an alternative mode, the two solenoids
are driven at the same RF frequency and in this case it is
preferable that the phase relationship between the two be such as
to cause constructive interaction or superposition of the fields of
the two solenoids. Generally, this requirement will be met by a
zero phase angle between the signals applied to the two solenoids
if they are both wound in the same sense. Otherwise, if they are
oppositely wound, the phase angle is preferably 180.degree.. In any
case, coupling between the inner and outer solenoids can be
minimized or eliminated by having a relatively large space between
the inner and outer solenoids 42, 90, as will be discussed below in
this specification.
The range attainable by such adjustments is increased by increasing
the radius of the outer solenoid 90 to increase the spacing between
the inner and outer solenoids 42, 90, so that the effects of the
two solenoids 42, 90 are more confined to the workpiece center and
edge, respectively. This permits a greater range of control in
superimposing the effects of the two solenoids 42, 90. For example,
the radius of the inner solenoid 42 should be no greater than about
half the workpiece radius and preferably no more than about a third
thereof. (The minimum radius of the inner solenoid 42 is affected
in part by the diameter of the conductor forming the solenoid 42
and in part by the need to provide a finite non-zero circumference
for an arcuate--e.g., circular--current path to produce
inductance.) The radius of the outer coil 90 should be at least
equal to the workpiece radius and preferably 1.5 or more times the
workpiece radius. With such a configuration, the respective center
and edge effects of the inner and outer solenoids 42, 90 are so
pronounced that by increasing power to the inner solenoid the
chamber pressure can be raised into the hundreds of mT while
providing a uniform plasma, and by increasing power to the outer
solenoid 90 the chamber pressure can be reduced to on the order of
0.01 mT
while providing a uniform plasma. Another advantage of such a large
radius of the outer solenoid 90 is that it minimizes coupling
between the inner and outer solenoids 42, 90.
FIG. 5 indicates in dashed line that a third solenoid may be added
as an option, which is desirable for a very large chamber
diameter.
FIG. 6 illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 5 in which
the outer solenoid 90 is replaced by a planar winding 100.
FIG. 7A illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 4 in
which the center solenoidal winding includes not only the vertical
stack 42 of windings 44 but in addition a second vertical stack 102
of windings 104 closely adjacent to the first stack 42 so that the
two stacks constitute a double-wound solenoid 106. Referring to
FIG. 7B, the doubly wound solenoid 106 may consist of two
independently wound single solenoids 42, 102, the inner solenoid 42
consisting of the windings 44a, 44b, and so forth and the outer
solenoid 102 consisting of the winding 104a, 104b and so forth.
Alternatively, referring to FIG. 7C, the doubly wound solenoid 106
may consist of vertically stacked pairs of at least nearly
co-planar windings. In the alternative of FIG. 7C, each pair of
nearly co-planar windings (e.g., the pair 44a, 104a or the pair
44b, 104b) may be formed by helically winding a single conductor.
The term "doubly wound" used herein refers to winding of the type
shown in either FIG. 7B or 7C. In addition, the solenoid winding
may not be merely doubly wound but may be triply wound or more and
in general it can consists of plural windings at each plane along
the axis of symmetry. Such multiple-wound solenoids may be employed
in either one or both the inner and outer solenoids 42, 90 of the
dual-solenoid embodiment of FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 7A in
which an outer doubly wound solenoid 1 10 concentric with the inner
doubly wound solenoid 106 is placed at a radial distance 8R from
the inner solenoid 106.
FIG. 9 illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 8 in which
the outer doubly wound solenoid 110 is replaced by an ordinary
outer solenoid 112 corresponding to the outer solenoid employed in
the embodiment of FIG. 5.
FIG. 10 illustrates another preferred embodiment in which the
solenoid 42 of FIG. 5 is placed at a location displaced by a radial
distance or from the center gas feed housing 66. In the embodiment
of FIG. 4, .delta.r is zero while in the embodiment of FIG. 10
.delta.r is a significant fraction of the radius of the cylindrical
side wall 50. Increasing .delta.r to the extent illustrated in FIG.
10 may be helpful as an alternative to the embodiments of FIGS. 4,
5, 7 and 8 for compensating for non-uniformities in addition to the
usual center dip in plasma ion density described with reference to
FIGS. 3D and 3E. Similarly, the embodiment of FIG. 10 may be
helpful where placing the solenoid 42 at the minimum distance from
the chamber center axis 46 (as in FIG. 4) would so increase the
plasma ion density near the center of the wafer 56 as to
over-correct for the usual dip in plasma ion density near the
center and create yet another non-uniformity in the plasma process
behavior. In such a case, the embodiment of FIG. 10 is preferred
where .delta.r is selected to be an optimum value which provides
the greatest uniformity in plasma ion density. Ideally in this
case, .delta.r is selected to avoid both under-correction and
over-correction for the usual center dip in plasma ion density. The
determination of the optimum value for .delta.r can be carried out
by the skilled worker by trial and error steps of placing the
solenoid 42 at different radial locations and employing
conventional techniques to determine the radial profile of the
plasma ion density at each step.
FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment in which the solenoid 42 has an
inverted conical shape while FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment in
which the solenoid 42 has an upright conical shape.
FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment in which the solenoid 42 is
combined with a planar helical winding 120. The planar helical
winding has the effect of reducing the severity with which the
solenoid winding 42 concentrates the induction field near the
center of the workpiece by distributing some of the RF power
somewhat away from the center. This feature may be useful in cases
where it is necessary to avoid over-correcting for the usual center
null. The extent of such diversion of the induction field away from
the center corresponds to the radius of the planar helical winding
120. FIG. 14 illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 13
in which the solenoid 42 has an inverted conical shape as in FIG.
11. FIG. 15 illustrates another variation of the embodiment of FIG.
13 in which the solenoid 42 has an upright conical shape as in the
embodiment of FIG. 12.
The RF potential on the ceiling 52 may be increased, for example to
prevent polymer deposition thereon, by reducing its effective
capacitive electrode area relative to other electrodes of the
chamber (e.g., the workpiece and the sidewalls). FIG. 16
illustrates how this can be accomplished by supporting a
smaller-area version of the ceiling 52' on an outer annulus 200,
from which the smaller-area ceiling 52' is insulated. The annulus
200 may be formed of the same material (e.g., silicon) as the
ceiling 52' and may be of a truncated conical shape (indicated in
solid line) or a truncated dome shape (indicated in dashed line). A
separate RF power supply 205 may be connected to the annulus 200 to
permit more workpiece center versus edge process adjustments.
FIG. 17A illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 5 in
which the ceiling 52 and side wall 50 are separate semiconductor
(e.g., silicon) pieces insulated from one another having separately
controlled RF bias power levels applied to them from respective RF
sources 210, 212 to enhance control over the center etch rate and
selectivity relative to the edge. As set forth in greater detail in
above-referenced U.S. application Ser. No. 08/597,577 filed Feb. 2,
1996 by Kenneth S. Collins et al., the ceiling 52 may be a
semiconductor (e.g., silicon) material doped so that it will act as
an electrode capacitively coupling the RF bias power applied to it
into the chamber and simultaneously as a window through which RF
power applied to the solenoid 42 may be inductively coupled into
the chamber. The advantage of such a window-electrode is that an RF
potential may be established directly over the wafer (e.g., for
controlling ion energy) while at the same time inductively coupling
RF power directly over the wafer. This latter feature, in
combination with the separately controlled inner and outer
solenoids 42, 90 and center and peripheral gas feeds 64a, 64b
greatly enhances the ability to adjust various plasma process
parameters such as ion density, ion energy, etch rate and etch
selectivity at the workpiece center relative to the workpiece edge
to achieve an optimum uniformity. In this combination, gas flow
through individual gas feeds is individually and separately
controlled to achieve such optimum uniformity of plasma process
parameters.
FIG. 17A illustrates how the lamp heaters 72 may be replaced by
electric heating elements 72'. As in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the
disposable silicon member is an annular ring 62 surrounding the
pedestal 54. Preferably, the annular ring 62 is high purity silicon
and may be doped to alter its electrical or optical properties. In
order to maintain the silicon ring 62 at a sufficient temperature
to ensure its favorable participation in the plasma process (e.g.,
its contribution of silicon material into the plasma for fluorine
scavenging), plural radiant (e.g., tungsten halogen lamp) heaters
77 arranged in a circle under the annular ring 62 heat the silicon
ring 62 through a quartz window 78. As described in the
above-referenced co-pending application, the heaters 77 are
controlled in accordance with the measured temperature of the
silicon ring 62 sensed by a temperature sensor 79 which may be a
remote sensor such as an optical pyrometer or a fluoro-optical
probe. The sensor 79 may extend partially into a very deep hole 62a
in the ring 62, the deepness and narrowness of the hole tending at
least partially to mask temperature-dependent variations in thermal
emissivity of the silicon ring 62, so that it behaves more like a
gray-body radiator for more reliable temperature measurement.
FIG. 17B illustrates another variation in which the ceiling 52
itself may be divided into an inner disk 52a and an outer annulus
52b electrically insulated from one another and separately biased
by independent RF power sources 214, 216 which may be separate
outputs of a single differentially controlled RF power source.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment, a user-accessible
central controller 300 shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, such as a
programmable electronic controller including, for example, a
conventional microprocessor and memory, is connected to
simultaneously control gas flow rates through the central and
peripheral gas feeds 64a, 64, RF plasma source power levels applied
to the inner and outer antennas 42, 90 and RF bias power levels
applied to the ceiling 52 and side wall 50 respectively (in FIG.
17A) and the RF bias power levels applied to the inner and outer
ceiling portions 52a, 52b (in FIG. 17B), temperature of the ceiling
52 and the temperature of the silicon ring 62. A ceiling
temperature controller 218 governs the power applied by a lamp
power source 220 to the heater lamps 72' by comparing the
temperature measured by the ceiling temperature sensor 76 with a
desired temperature known to the controller 300. A ring temperature
controller 222 controls the power applied by a heater power source
224 to the heater lamps 77 facing the silicon ring 62 by comparing
the ring temperature measured by the ring sensor 79 with a desired
ring temperature stored known to the controller 222. The master
controller 300 governs the desired temperatures of the temperature
controllers 218 and 222, the RF power levels of the solenoid power
sources 68, 96, the RF power levels of the bias power sources 210,
212 (FIG. 17A) or 214, 216 (FIG. 17B), the wafer bias level applied
by the RF power source 70 and the gas flow rates supplied by the
various gas supplies (or separate valves) to the gas inlets 64a-d.
The key to controlling the wafer bias level is the RF potential
difference between the wafer pedestal 54 and the ceiling 52. Thus,
either the pedestal RF power source 70 or the ceiling RF power
source 212 may be simply a short to RF ground. With such a
programmable integrated controller, the user can easily optimize
apportionment of RF source power, RF bias power and gas flow rate
between the workpiece center and periphery to achieve the greatest
center-to-edge process uniformity across the surface of the
workpiece (e.g., uniform radial distribution of etch rate and etch
selectivity). Also, by adjusting (through the controller 300) the
RF power applied to the solenoids 42, 90 relative to the RF power
difference between the pedestal 54 and ceiling 52, the user can
operate the reactor in a predominantly inductively coupled mode or
in a predominantly capacitively coupled mode.
While the various power sources connected in FIG. 17A to the
solenoids 42, 90, the ceiling 52, side wall 50 (or the inner and
outer ceiling portions 52a, 52b as in FIG. 17B) have been described
as operating at RF frequencies, the invention is not restricted to
any particular range of frequencies, and frequencies other than RF
may be selected by the skilled worker in carrying out the
invention.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the high thermal
conductivity spacer 75, the ceiling 52 and the side wall 50 are
integrally formed together from a single piece of crystalline
silicon.
Referring again to FIG. 5, a preferred plasma processing chamber
includes a window/electrode 52. The window/electrode 52 is
fabricated from semiconducting material as described in detail in
the above-referenced applications so that it may function as both a
window to RF electromagnetic or inductive power coupling from one
or more external (outside chamber) antennas or coils to the plasma
within the chamber and as an electrode for electrostatically or
capacitively coupling RF power to the plasma within the chamber (or
for terminating or providing a ground or return path for such
capacitive or electrostatic coupling of RF power) or for biasing
the workpiece or wafer.
The window/electrode 52 may be any shape as described in the
above-referenced applications, but in this example is approximately
a flat disc which may optionally include a cylindrical wall or
skirt extending outward from the disk, such as for plasma
confinement as described in the above-referenced applications.
The window/electrode 52 is interfaced to the heat sink 74 through
the heat transfer material 75. Typically the heat sink 74 is a
water cooled metal plate, preferably a good thermal conductor such
as aluminum or copper, but may optionally be a non-metal. The heat
sink 74 typically a cooling apparatus preferably of the type which
uses a liquid coolant such as water or ethylene-glycol that is
forced through cooling passages of sufficient surface area within
the heat sink 74 by a closed-loop heat exchanger or chiller. The
liquid flow rate or temperature may be maintained approximately
constant. Alternatively, the liquid flow rate or temperature may be
an output variable of the temperature control system.
Preferably, radiant heating is used to apply heat to the
window/electrode. The radiant heaters 72 are a plurality of
tungsten filament lamps utilizing a quartz envelope filled with a
mixture of halogen and inert gases. Radiant heaters are preferred
to other heater types because thermal lag is minimized: The thermal
capacitance of a tungsten filament lamp is very low, such that the
time response of filament temperature (and thus of power output) to
a change in power setting is short (<1 second), and since the
heat transfer mechanism between lamp filament and load is by
radiation, the total thermal lag for heating is minimized. In
addition, since the heat transfer mechanism between lamp filament
and load is by radiation, the total thermal lag for heating is
minimized. In addition, since the thermal capacitance of a tungsten
filament lamp is very low, the amount of stored thermal energy in
the lamp is very low, and when a reduction in heating power is
called for by the control system, the filament temperature may be
quickly dropped and the lamp output power thus also quickly drops.
As shown in FIG. 5, the lamps 72 directly radiate the load (the
window/electrode 52) for the fastest possible response. However,
alternatively, the lamps 72 may radiate the heat transfer material
75.
Lamp heating may be provided in more than one zone, i.e. lamps at
two or more radii from the axis of the window/electrode to improve
thermal uniformity of window/electrode. For maximum thermal
uniformity, lamps in the two or more zones may be provided with
separate control, each zone utilizing its own temperature
measurement, control system, and output transducer. This is
especially useful when the heat flux spatial distribution from
inside the chamber varies depending on process parameters,
processes, process sequences, or other boundary conditions.
The heat transfer material 75 may be formed integrally with the
window/electrode 52 that is formed of the same material into a
single piece structure for elimination of a thermal contact
resistance that would be present if heat transfer material 75 and
window/electrode 52 were two separate parts. Alternatively, the
heat transfer material 75 and the window/electrode 52 may be two
parts of same or different materials that are bonded together,
(preferably with a high electrical resistivity material since the
window/electrode 52 is used for inductive or electromagnetic
coupling of RF or microwave power using inductive antennas 90, 92
and/or 42, 44), minimizing the thermal contact resistance between
the heat transfer material 75 and the window/electrode 52.
Alternatively, the heat transfer material 75 and the
window/electrode 52 may be two parts of same or different materials
that are interfaced together through a contact resistance. In this
case, the heat transfer material 75 is preferably made of a highly
thermally conductive material of high electrical resistivity.
Additionally, a low product of density and specific heat are
preferred. SiC, Si, AIN, and AI.sub.2 O.sub.3 are examples.
______________________________________ Properties of SiC are
indicated below: ______________________________________ Thermal
conductivity: 130 watt/meter*Kelvin Electrical resistivity:
>10.sup.5 ohm*cm Specific Heat: 0.66 joule/gram*Kelvin
Density: 3.2 gram/cm.sup.3
______________________________________
Silicon may also be used, if lightly (not heavily) doped (i.e.
10.sup.14 /cm.sup.3) and has the following properties:
______________________________________ Thermal conductivity: 80
watt/meter*Kelvin Electrical resistivity: 20-100 ohm*cm Specific
Heat: 0.7 joule/gram*Kelvin Density: 2.3 gram/cm.sup.3
______________________________________
Aluminum nitride or aluminum oxide are other alternatives.
The heat transfer material 75 may be bonded to the heat sink 74 by
techniques well known in the art (e.g., using bonding materials
such as thermoplastics, epoxies, or other organic or inorganic
bonding materials), without the restriction of requiring high
electrical resistivity bonding material in the area proximate the
heat sink 74. This provides a very low thermal contact resistance
between heat transfer material 75 and heat sink 74.
The heat transfer material 75 also serves to separate the inductive
antennas 90, 92 and/or 42, 44 from the heat sink 74 which if it is
metal, forms a ground plane or reflector to the induction field
generated in the vicinity of each inductive antenna 90, 92 and/or
42, 44. If the heat sink 74 is metal and is too close to the
inductive antenna 90, 92 and/or 42, 44, then eddy currents are
induced in the ground plane, causing power loss. In addition, the
RF currents through the antenna 90, 92 and/or 42, 44 become very
large to drive a given RF power, increasing I.sup.2 R losses in the
circuit. The antennas 90, 92 and/or 42, 44 are each four turns
comprised of 3/16" diameter water cooled copper tubing insulated
with 1/4" outside diameter teflon tubing yielding coils 1" in
height. An acceptable distance between the window/electrode 52 and
the metal heat sink 74 is about 2", yielding about a 1" distance
between the top of the antenna 90, 92 and/or 42, 44 and the heat
sink 74.
As described above, thermal contact resistances between the heat
transfer material 75 and the window, electrode 52, and between the
heat transfer material 75 and the heat sink 74 can be minimized by
bonding the materials together. Also described above was an example
of forming the window/electrode 52 and the heat transfer material
75 from a single piece of material, eliminating one thermal contact
resistance. However, in some cases, one or both thermal contact
resistances cannot be avoided. However, the thermal contact
resistance(s) can be minimized in accordance with a feature of the
plasma reactor, which will now be introduced.
Thermal contact resistance between two parts is comprised of two
parallel elements: 1) mechanical point contact between the parts,
and 2) conduction through air (or other medium) between the parts.
In the absence of air or other medium, the thermal contact
resistance between the two parts is very high and typically
unacceptable for heating and/or cooling of the window/electrode 52
due to the high heat loads imposed on it during typical plasma
reactor operation. The presence of air yields a lower thermal
contact resistance than mechanical point contact alone, but is
typically marginal depending on the effective gap between parts,
which is a function of the surface roughness and flatness of both
parts. For air in the high pressure continuum regime wherein the
mean-free-path in the gas is small relative to the effective gap
between parts, the thermal conductivity of the air is invariant
with gas pressure, and the thermal conductance per unit area is
simply the ratio of the thermal conductivity of air to the
effective gap. For air at atmospheric pressure and 100 degrees C,
the thermal conductivity is about 0.03 watt/meter*Kelvin. Heat
transfer across the gap is limited by the low chamber pressure and
by the fact that the mechanical contact between the two parts is
only point contact.
In order to improve heat transfer, a thermally conductive gas such
as (preferably) helium or another one of the inert gases such as
argon, xenon and so forth, can be placed in the gap between the
between the heat transfer material 75 and the heat sink 74 and/or
in the gap between the heat transfer material 75 and the
window/electrode 52, in accordance with a first embodiment of the
plasma reactor. The thermally conductive gas in the gap is best
pressurized above the chamber pressure to as high as atmospheric
pressure, although preferably the pressure of the thermal transfer
gas in the gap is between the chamber pressure and atmospheric
pressure. Helium is a preferred choice for the thermally conductive
gas because helium has a thermal conductivity of about 0.18
watt/meter*Kelvin at atmospheric pressure and 100 degree C. To
minimize thermal contact resistance between the heat transfer
material 75 and the heat sink 74, helium can be provided to each
interface therebetween through a helium distribution manifold
within the heat sink 74, as will be described in detail below in
this specification. As will also be described below in detail, an
O-ring of small cross-section and low durometer can be used to
reduce helium leakage and between heat transfer material 75 and
heat sink 74. Through-holes from the top surface of the heat
transfer material or rings 75 can connect a helium passage from an
upper interface between the heat sink 74 and the heat transfer
material ring 75, to interface between the heat transfer material
ring 75 and the window/electrode 52. Each heat transfer ring 75 may
be formed of any good thermal conductor which does not tend to
absorb an RF field (e.g., a thermal conductor with relatively high
electrical resistivity). One suitable material is silicon carbide,
although other materials may be employed which may be
semiconductive or dielectric, such as ceramic materials of the type
including silicon nitride, aluminum nitride or aluminum oxide.
However, silicon carbide is preferred as the material for the heat
transfer rings 75.
Helium can be supplied to the aforementioned helium distribution
manifold located within heat sink 74 at a pressure somewhat above
atmospheric to minimize dilution of helium by air which could
otherwise increase the thermal contact resistance.
Other materials may be used in between the heat transfer material
75 and the window/electrode 52, and between the heat transfer
material 75 and the heat sink 74 to minimize thermal contact
resistances. Examples are thermally conductive, compliant
elastomeric pads such as boron nitride or silicon carbide or
silicon or aluminum nitride or aluminum oxide, and similar
materials. Metal-impregnated elastomeric pads may be used at the
interface adjacent the heat sink 74, but not adjacent the
window/electrode 52 for the same reasons explained above that in
general a conductor may not be placed adjacent the window electrode
52. Soft metals such as 1100 series aluminum, indium, copper or
nickel may be used at the interface adjacent the heat sink 74, but
not adjacent the window/electrode 52 for the reasons explained
above.
The cooling capability and heating power requirements are best
selected or sized depending on 1) temperature control range
required of the window/electrode, 2) the minimum and maximum heat
internal loads, 3) the material properties and physical dimensions
of the window/electrode, the heat transfer materials, the heat sink
plate and the interfaces between heat sink plate, heat transfer
materials, and window/electrode, and 4) the temperature of the heat
sink. Generally, the cooling capability is sized first for the
lowest required temperature of operation of the window/electrode
with the highest internal heat load, and the heating power is then
sized to overwhelm the cooling for the highest required temperature
of operation of the window/electrode with the lowest internal heat
load (typically zero internal heat load).
FIG. 18 corresponds to an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 5 and
illustrates one implementation of the foregoing concept of a
thermally conductive gas interface at both faces (top and bottom)
of the thermally conductive spacer 75 which is not integrally
formed with the semiconductor window electrode 52. In FIG. 18, the
overlying cold plate 74 sandwiches plural cylindrical spacer rings
75 with the underlying semiconductor window electrode 52 as
illustrated in FIG. 5. Each spacer or torus 75 can be a material
different from the semiconductor window electrode 52, as discussed
above. A manifold 1000 is formed in the cold plate 74 into which a
thermally conductive gas such as helium may be supplied from a
source 1010 under positive pressure. Preferably, but not
necessarily, the positive pressure of the source 1010 is selected
so as to maintain the pressure within the thin gap between the two
parts significantly above the reactor chamber pressure but below
atmospheric pressure. Gas orifices 1020 connect the manifold 1000
to the top interface 1030 between the cold plate 74 and the spacer
75, permitting the thermally conductive gas (e.g., Helium) to fill
the voids in the interface 1030. An axial passage 1040 is provided
through the spacer 75 between its top and bottom faces. The axial
passage 1040 connects the top interface 1030 with a bottom
interface 1050 between the bottom face of the spacer 75 and the
underlying semiconductor window electrode 52. The axial passage
1040 permits the thermally conductive gas to flow from the top
interface 1030 to the bottom interface 1050 to fill voids in the
bottom interface 1050, so that the thermally conductive gas fills
voids in both the top and bottom interfaces 1030, 1050. By the
source 1010 maintaining the thermally conductive gas manifold 1000
under positive pressure (e.g., 5 psi higher than the chamber
pressure), the gas flows to both interfaces 1030, 1050. In order to
reduce or prevent leaking of the thermally conductive gas from the
interfaces 1030, 1050, small cross-section O-rings 1070, 1080 are
sandwiched in the top and bottom interfaces, respectively, at the
time of assembly. The O-rings 1070, 1080 define nearly
infinitesimally thin gas-containing volumes in the respective
interfaces 1030, 1050 in communication with the respective gas
manifold 1000, 1040.
FIG. 19 illustrates how the embodiment of FIG. 18 is modified to
accommodate an array of conductive torus spacers 75 integrally
formed with the semiconductor window electrode 52. In this case,
the only interface to be filled by the thermally conductive gas is
the top interface 1030.
FIG. 20 corresponds to an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 5 and
illustrates one implementation of the foregoing concept of a
thermally conductive solid interface material at both faces (top
and bottom) of the thermally conductive spacer 75 which is not
integrally formed with the semiconductor window electrode 52. In
FIG. 18, the overlying cold plate 74 sandwiches plural cylindrical
spacer rings 75 with the underlying semiconductor window electrode
52 as illustrated in FIG. 5. Each spacer or torus 75 can be a
material different from the semiconductor window electrode 52, as
discussed above. A thermally conductive solid interface material
layer 1085, 1090 is placed in either or both the top and bottom
interfaces 1030, 1050, respectively. If a solid material layer is
placed in only one of the top and bottom interfaces 1030, 1050,
then the remaining interface may be filled with a thermally
conductive gas in the manner of FIG. 18. However, FIG. 20
illustrates the case in which a thermally conductive solid
interface material layer is in both interfaces 1030, 1050. As
discussed above, the solid interface material layer 1085 in the top
interface 1030 may be a soft metal, but the solid interface
material layer 1090 in the bottom interface 1050 cannot be highly
electrically conductive because it is next to the electrode 52. The
top layer 1085 may be soft aluminum, indium, copper or nickel or an
elastomer impregnated with powders or particles of such metals.
Either one of the top and bottom layers 1085, 1090 may be an
elastomer impregnated with powder or particles of a thermally
conductive electrically insulating material such as boron nitride,
high electrical resistivity (e.g., bulk) silicon carbide or
silicon, aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide and like materials.
Alternatively, either one or both of the material layers 1085, 1090
may be a bonding material, such as thermoplastic, epoxy or an
organic or inorganic bonding material.
FIG. 21 illustrates how the embodiment of FIG. 20 is modified to
accommodate an array of conductive torus spacers 75 integrally
formed with the semiconductor window electrode 52. In this case,
the only interface to be filled is the top interface 1030.
The invention also solves a severe cooling problem with heated
parts inside the reactor chamber which are difficult to cool, such
as the heated disposable ring 62 of polymer-hardening precursor
material described above with reference to FIG. 5. (The ring 62 may
be heated only by plasma heating if no heater is provided, and
still require cooling.) It also solves a problem of heating parts
inside the reactor chamber which are difficult to heat
directly.
Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, a cold plate 1100 directly beneath
the ring 62 and in thermal contact has internal coolant jackets
1110 which receive coolant from a coolant circulation pump 1120.
The interface 1130 between the cold plate 1110 and the ring 62 is
filled with a thermal conductivity enhancing substance such as a
thermally conductive gas (as in FIG. 22) or a thermally conductive
solid material layer 1140 (as in FIG. 23). The thermally conductive
gas may be any gas capable of conducting heat, such as an inert gas
or even a gas similar to the process gas employed in the reactor
chamber, although an inert gas such as helium is preferred. In the
case of the embodiment of FIG. 22 employing the thermally
conductive gas, a manifold 1150 through the cold plate 1100 is
connected to a thermally conductive gas source 1160 which supplies
thermally conductive gas through the manifold 1160 into the
interface 1130. Leakage of the gas from the interface 1130 is
preferably controlled to reduce or prevent loss by sandwiching an
elastomeric low-cross-section O-ring 1070' between the cold plate
1100 and silicon ring 62 at the time the ring is put into its
place.
While helium is preferred as the thermally conductive gas in the
gap, in the case of application to heated or cooled parts inside
the sub-atmospheric reactor chamber, any gas, including a
processing gas, could suffice at a pressure greater than the
chamber pressure but below atmospheric. In such a case, the gas may
be allowed to leak into the chamber so that the use of a peripheral
seal such as an O-ring or elastomer may not be necessary. Since the
thermally conductive gas (or "thermal transfer gas") is pressurized
above the chamber pressure, some clamping force must be applied.
Such a clamping force can be mechanical or may be electrostatically
induced between the plate 1100 and the ring 62. Such an
electrostatic clamping feature would require a material which is at
least partially electrically insulating to be placed between the
plate 1100 and the ring 62. Such a feature can eliminate the need
for a peripheral seal to control leakage of the thermally
conductive gas. Such an electrostatic clamping feature is described
below in this specification with reference to FIG. 26.
The thermally conductive gas can be derived from any suitable
source. For example, if the wafer pedestal employs helium cooling
underneath the wafer, then a common helium source may be employed
for cooling the wafer as well as other items (such as the ring 62)
inside the chamber.
In the embodiment of FIG. 23, the layer of solid thermally
conductive material 1140 may be soft aluminum, indium, copper or
nickel or an elastomer impregnated with powders or particles of
such metals or it may be an elastomer impregnated with powder or
particles of a thermally conductive electrically insulating
material such as boron nitride, high resistivity (e.g., bulk)
silicon carbide or silicon, aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide and
like materials.
The plasma reactor also concerns cooling chamber walls and chamber
liners in a similar manner. Referring to FIG. 24, the chamber side
wall 50 in any of the reactors discussed above may be cooled by an
exterior cold plate 1210 adjacent a portion of the exterior of the
wall 50. The cold plate includes internal coolant jackets 1220
through which coolant is recirculated by a coolant pump 1230. The
interface 1240 between the cold plate 1210 and the side wall 50 is
filled with a thermally conductive gas (such as helium) fed through
a manifold 1245 through the cold plate 1210 into the interface 1240
from a gas source 1250 which maintains the gas at a positive
pressure. Leakage of the thermally conductive gas from the
interface 1240 is reduced or prevented by an O-ring 1260 sandwiched
between the cold plate 1210 and the side wall 50 at the time of
assembly. The O-ring 1260 defines a gas-containing volume of the
interface 1240
which is nearly infinitesimally thin and in communication with the
manifold 1245.
An interior chamber liner 1300 may be cooled by heat conduction to
a cooled body, such as the side wall 50. In accordance with the
plasma reactor, such cooling is enhanced by filling the interface
1310 between the liner 1300 and the interior surface of the side
wall 50 with a thermally conductive gas such as helium. For this
purpose, a radial narrow gas channel 1320 is provided through the
side wall 50 to provide gas flow between the interface 1240 on the
external side wall surface and the interface 1310 on the internal
side wall surface. The thermally conductive gas supplied through
the manifold 1245 fills the external surface interface 1240 and,
through the channel 1320, fills the internal surface interface 1310
between the liner 1300 and the side wall 50. To prevent or reduce
gas leakage, an O-ring 1370 is sandwiched between the side wall 50
and the liner 1300 at the time of assembly. The O-ring 1370 defines
a nearly infinitesimally thin gas-containing volume within the
interface 1310 in communication with the gas channel 1245 in the
side wall 50.
FIG. 25 illustrates how the embodiment of FIG. 24 is modified by
substituting a solid material layer 1370, 1380 in each of the
interfaces 1240 and 1310, respectively, instead of the thermally
conductive gas. In the embodiment of FIG. 25, each layer 1370, 1380
of solid thermally conductive material may be soft aluminum,
indium, copper or nickel or an elastomer impregnated with powders
or particles of such metals or it may be an elastomer impregnated
with powder or particles of a thermally conductive electrically
insulating material such as boron nitride, high resistivity (e.g.,
bulk) silicon carbide or silicon, aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide
and like materials.
FIG. 26 illustrates how the embodiment of FIG. 22 may be modified
to include the feature of electrostatic clamping of the ring 62 to
the cold plate 1100. In FIG. 26, a dielectric layer 1410 is
inserted between the polymer-hardening precursor ring 62 and the
cold plate 1100, and an electrostatic clamping voltage is applied
to the cold plate 1100 from a D.C. voltage source 1420 through a
clamping switch 1430. Introduction of the insulating or dielectric
layer 1410 creates a gap 1130a between the cold plate 1100 and the
insulating layer 1410 and a gap 1130b between the ring 62 and the
insulating layer 1410. The insulating layer 1410 has passageways
1412 therethrough so that gas supplied from the passageway 1150
into the gap 1130a can flow into the other gap 1130b. While FIG. 26
shows O-rings 1070' sealing both gaps 1130a and 1130b, such O-rings
may not be necessary, depending upon the electrostatic clamping
force induced.
The plasma reactor provides a great improvement (by a factor of
about 6 in the case of the introduction of helium) in thermal
conductivity across the interface between heat-receiving elements
of the reactor either inside the chamber (such as chamber liners,
disposable silicon rings) and outside the chamber (such as window
electrodes, side walls) and a cooling plate or cold sink. As a
result, the automated control of temperature of many critical parts
of the plasma reactor is improved to a new capability exceeding
that of the prior art. The invention accomplishes this in one or a
combination of two characteristic modes at the various interfaces:
(a) the introduction of a thermally conductive gas into the
interface and (b) the introduction of a thermally conductive solid
layer in the interface. This, in combination with efficiently
controlled heating of the same elements, permits accurate feedback
control of the temperature of each such element thus heated and
cooled.
In selecting the heat transfer materials and/or physical dimensions
of the reactor, the cooling conductance required (G) is determined
as follows:
where Delta-T1=Difference between heat sink temperature and minimum
window/electrode temperature.
Alternatively, if the heat transfer materials and physical
dimensions have already been chosen, then the required heat sink
temperature may be trivially calculated by rearranging the above
equation for Delta-T1 as function of G.
Heating power is then determined as follows:
where:
G is the cooling conductance from above (in watts/degree C),
Delta-T2=Difference between heat sink temperature and maximum
window/electrode temperature
Pmin is the minimum internal heat load on the window/electrode.
EXAMPLE 1
The window/electrode 52 and the heat transfer rings 75 are
integrally formed as a monolithic piece, and the window/electrode
52 is a flat circular disk 12.81 inches in diameter and 0.85 in
thick. Formed integrally with the window/electrode 52 is an array
of four concentric cylindrical heat transfer rings (75) 2" high of
the following inside and outside diameters:
1. outer heat transfer ring--12.80" outside dia., 10.79" inside
dia.,
2. middle heat transfer ring--9.010" outside dia., 7.595" inside
dia.,
3. inner heat transfer ring--5.715" outside dia., 3.940" inside
dia.,
4. center heat transfer ring--2.260" outside dia., 0.940" inside
dia.
The window/electrode 52 and integral array of concentric
cylindrical heat transfer rings 75 are fabricated together from a
single ingot of polycrystalline silicon with the following thermal
and electrical properties:
______________________________________ Doping level: 10.sup.14
/cm.sup.3, boron or phosphorous Thermal conductivity: 80
watt/meter*Kelvin Electrical resistivity: from 20 to 100 ohm*cm
Specific Heat: 0.7 joule/gram*Kelvin Density: 2.3 gram/cm.sup.3
______________________________________
A plurality of 750 watt@120 volt rms tungsten filament lamps 76 are
employed. The number of lamps is selected based on measured 73%
efficiency (output power/ac input power) and on 400 watt@80 volt
rms maximum operating level (for long lamp life). Two heat zones
are employed, those on the outer circle comprise one zone (outer),
and those on the inner circle and at the center comprise the second
(inner) zone. Each zone has its own temperature measurement (a
type-K thermocouple spring loaded against the window/electrode
surface) and its own output transducer (a phase-angle controller).
The lamps, manufactured by Sylvania, are deployed as follows:
15 lamps on a 13.55" diameter circle, equal angular spacing (24
degrees);
15 lamps on a 6.655"diameter circle, equal angular spacing (24
degrees);
1 lamp on central axis.
The outer lamp circle is surrounded on the outside by a cylindrical
polished aluminum reflector that is integral with the heat sink
74.
The outer solenoid antenna 90 is 4 turns comprised of 3/16"
diameter water cooled copper tubing insulated with 1/4" outside
diameter teflon tubing yielding coil 1" in height and 10" mean
diameter, wound as described in the above-referenced parent
application.
The inner solenoid antenna 42 is 4 turns comprised of 3/16"
diameter water cooled copper tubing insulated with 1/4" outside
diameter teflon tubing yielding coil 1" in height and 3.25 mean
diameter, wound as described in the above-referenced parent
application.
The heat sink plate 74 is a water cooled aluminum plate maintained
at 75 degree C by a closed loop heat exchanger using a 50/50%
water/ethylene-glycol mixture at a flow rate of 2 gallons per
minute. The heat sink 74 houses lamp sockets and provides cooling
for the lamps 76 required due to inherent lamp losses to socket
(approximately 27%). The heat sink plate 74 includes feed-through
for the inner and outer solenoidal antennas 42, 90. The heat sink
74 also functions as a ground plane for the antennas 42, 90. The
heat sink plate 74 includes O-ring grooves to accommodate 0.139
inch diameter, 30 durometer soft O-rings deployed just inside the
outer diameter of each heat transfer ring 75 and just outside the
inner diameter of each heat transfer ring 75. The heat sink 74 is
mounted on top of the integral array of concentric cylindrical heat
transfer rings 75. Surface roughness of both surfaces (the bottom
of the heat sink 74 and the top of heat transfer rings 75) is less
than a micro-inch. Flatness of each surfaces is less than 0.0005
inch. The effective gap between the bottom of the heat sink and the
top of the heat transfer rings is less than 0.001 inch.
EXAMPLE 2
The window/electrode 52 and the heat transfer rings 75 are separate
pieces formed of different materials. The window/electrode 52 is a
flat circular disk 14.52 inches in diameter and 0.85 inches thick.
A separate array of 4 concentric cylindrical heat transfer rings 75
2" high of the following inside and outside diameters is placed in
between the heat sink plate and the window electrode:
1. outer heat transfer ring--12.70" outside dia., 10.67" inside
dia.,
2. middle heat transfer ring--8.883"outside dia., 7.67" inside
dia.,
3. inner heat transfer ring--5.576" outside dia., 3.920" inside
dia.,
4. center heat transfer ring--2.080" outside dia., 1.050" inside
dia.
The window/electrode 52 is fabricated from a single ingot of
polycrystalline silicon with the following thermal and electrical
properties:
______________________________________ Doping level: 10.sup.14
/cm.sup.3, boron or phosphorous Thermal conductivity: 80
watt/meter*Kelvin Electrical resistivity: 20-100 ohm*cm Specific
Heat: 0.7 joule/gram*Kelvin Density: 2.3 gram/cm.sup.3
______________________________________
The array of concentric cylindrical heat transfer rings 75 are
fabricated from SiC (silicon carbide) with the following thermal
and electrical properties:
______________________________________ Thermal conductivity: 130
watt/meter*Kelvin Electrical resistivity: 10.sup.5 ohm*cm Specific
Heat: 0.655 joule/gram*Kelvin Density: 3.2 gram/cm.sup.3
______________________________________
A plurality of 750 watt@120 volt rms tungsten filament lamps are
employed. The number of lamps is selected based on measured 73%
efficiency (output power/ac input power) and 400 watt@80 volt rms
maximum operating level (for long lamp life). Two heat zones are
employed, those on the outer circle comprise one zone (outer), and
those on the inner circle and at the center comprise the second
(inner) zone. Each zone has its own temperature measurement (a
type-K thermocouple spring loaded against the window/electrode
surface) and its own output transducer (a phase-angle controller).
The lamps 76, manufactured by Sylvania, are deployed as
follows:
15 lamps on 13.55" diameter circle, equal angular spacing (24
degree);
15 lamps on 6.626" diameter circle, equal angular spacing (24
degree);
1 lamp on central axis.
The outer lamp circle is surrounded on the outside by a cylindrical
polished aluminum reflector that is integral with the heat
sink.
The outer solenoid antenna 90 is four turns comprised of 3/16"
diameter water cooled copper tubing insulated with 1/4" outside
diameter teflon tubing yielding coil 1" in height and 10" mean
diameter, wound as described in the above-referenced parent
application.
The inner solenoid antenna 42 is four turns comprised of 3/16"
diameter water cooled copper tubing insulated with 1/4" outside
diameter teflon tubing yielding coil 1" in height and 3.25 mean
diameter, wound as described in the above-reference parent
application.
The heat sink plate 74 is a water cooled aluminum plate maintained
at 75 degrees C by a closed loop heat exchanger using a 50/50%
water/ethylene-glycol mixture at a flow rate of 2 gallons per
minute. Heat sink houses lamp sockets and provides cooling for the
lamps, required due to inherent lamp losses to socket
(approximately 27%). The heat sink plate 74 includes feed-through
for the aforementioned inner and outer solenoidal antennas 42, 90.
The heat sink 74 also functions as a ground plane for the antennas.
The heat sink plate 74 and the window/electrode 52 include O-ring
grooves to accommodate 0.139 inch diameter, 30 durometer soft
O-rings deployed just inside the outer diameter of each heat
transfer ring 75 and just outside the inner diameter of each heat
transfer ring 75. The heat sink 74 is mounted on top of the array
of concentric cylindrical heat transfer rings 75. Surface roughness
of all surfaces (bottom of the heat sink and top of the heat
transfer rings, bottom of the heat transfer rings and top of the
window/electrode) is less than a micro-inch. Flatness of each
surface is less than 0.0005 inch. The effective gap between the
bottom of the heat sink and the top of the heat transfer rings is
less than 0.001 inch. The effective gap between the bottom of the
heat transfer rings and the top of the window/electrode is less
than 0.001 inch.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION RELATING TO THE PRESENT INVENTION
Removable Plasma Confinement Magnet Modules:
Referring now to FIG. 27, the plasma confinement magnets 80, 82
protecting the pumping annulus 60 may each be encased in a modular
(removable) magnet liner module. Thus, a magnet liner module 2010
holds the plasma confinement magnet 80 while a magnet liner module
2020 holds the plasma confinement magnet 82. Each magnet liner
module 2010, 2020 is preferably formed of a non-magnetic metal such
as aluminum. The silicon ceiling 52 rests on the liner module 2010
and the liner module 2010 rests on the chamber side wall or body
50. An RF gasket 2012 and an O-ring 2014 are pressed between the
liner module 2010 and the ceiling 52. Another RF gasket 2016 and
another O-ring 2018 are pressed between the liner module 2010 and
the chamber body 50. Referring to FIG. 28, each liner module 2010,
2020 has an opening or rectangular-shaped depression 2030 in which
the magnet (e.g., the magnet 80) resides. The magnet 80 is bonded
to the outward-facing surface of the opening 2030 by a bonding
layer 2040 (which may be an epoxy material, for example) between
the magnet 80 and the magnet liner module. The magnet 80 is
protectively sealed inside the opening 2030 by an aluminum cover
2050 which can be laser welded or E-beam welded to the magnet liner
module so as to seal the opening. This forms a welding layer 2060
between the cover 2050 and the liner module. The liner modules
2010, 2020 are placed on the interior walls of the pumping annulus
60 so that the magnets 80, 82 are as close as possible to their
regions of interaction with the plasma. One advantage of this
embodiment is that the magnets 80, 82, although at a minimum
distance from their plasma interaction regions, are protected from
the plasma by being sealed inside their respective liner modules
2010, 2020. Another advantage is that the magnets are thermally
coupled to cooled bodies (i.e., the chamber walls) by contact of
the thermally conductive (aluminum) liner modules with the walls,
so that the magnets 80, 82 are cooled. This enables the plasma
confinement magnets to be maintained well below their Curie
temperature and therefore remain effective. For this purpose, in
addition to the coolant passages 74a through the cooling plate 74,
additional coolant passages 2070 can be provided in the chamber
walls near the areas of contact with the plasma confinement magnet
liner modules 2010, 2020. To further enhance heat transfer from the
magnet liner module to the chamber wall, each liner module 2010,
2020 may be fastened to the adjoining chamber wall by a fastener
2080. One feature of the magnet liner modules 2010, 2020 is their
easy removability from the chamber assembly for easy
cleaning.
In addition to protecting the pump annulus 60 by the plasma
confinement magnet pair 80, 82, the reactor may have a wafer slit
valve 2082 which can be protected by another pair of plasma
confinement magnets 2084, 2086 encased in a similar pair of plasma
confinement magnet liner modules 2088, 2090 each employing the
features discussed above with reference to FIG. 28.
The plasma confinement magnet pairs can be employed to prevent
plasma leakage through any gap in the physical barrier (chamber
wall) such as the wafer slit valve, the gas inlet to the chamber,
the pumping annulus, windows of the chamber or even the chamber
wall itself. One example of how plasma leakage through gas inlets
of the chamber can be prevented by plasma confinement magnets is
illustrated in FIG. 27 for an overhead center gas feed 2092. The
center gas feed 2092 accommodates a liner module 2094 holding at
least a pair of plasma confinement magnets 2096a, 2096b facing one
another across the center gas feed 2092. Alternatively, the liner
module 2094 can be divided into two separable modules, each holding
one of the pair of plasma confinement magnets 2096a, 2096b. The
center gas feed liner module 2094 can be aluminum, although one
option could be to employ silicon in the liner module 2094 for
compatibility with the silicon ceiling 52. Each orifice or gas
inlet of the reactor can have a similar plasma confinement magnet
liner module.
Instead of placing the center gas feed plasma confinement magnet
inside a liner module within the ceiling, the magnets could be
placed on top of the ceiling without using any liner module.
The liner modules referred to herein may not necessarily by liners
of the chamber (e.g., removable pieces covering the chamber
interior surfaces) but may instead simply serve as protective
housings for the plasma confinement magnets without serving as
liners.
The magnetic orientations of the plasma confinement magnet pairs
referred to above may be in accordance with any of the options
illustrated in FIGS. 31A-31E, corresponding to the disclosure of
one of the above-referenced co-pending applications, namely U.S.
Ser. No. 08/597,577.
Overcoming Non-Uniform Heating/Cooling of Ceiling:
Referring again to FIG. 27, the heat transfer from the ceiling 52
to the cold plate 74 through each thermally conductive ring 75
depends upon the thermal resistance across the gap 74' between the
cooling plate 74 and the thermally conductive ring 75. This
resistance predominantly depends upon the gap 74' which in turn
depends upon surface flatness and the force with which the ring 75
is held against the cooling plate 74. Unless the thermal
resistances across all of the gaps 74' between the thermally
conductive rings 75 and the cooling plate 74 are at least nearly
equal, heat transfer to the cooling plate 74 from different ones of
the concentric thermally conductive rings 75 will be different.
Because different areas of each of the rings 75 contact different
areas of the ceiling 52, the disparity in heat transfer by the
different rings 75 produces a spatially non-uniform distribution of
heat transfer across the surface of the ceiling 52. Thus, assuming
uniform heating of the ceiling 52 by the distributed heater lamps
72, the non-uniform distribution of heat transfer across the
ceiling 52 will produce temperature differences across the ceiling
52, a significant problem. It seems nearly impossible to avoid such
a problem: a fairly uniform temperature distribution across the 15
inch diameter ceiling 52 would require the gap between the cooling
plate 74 and the rings 75 to be maintained within a tolerance of
one to two tenths of a mil (1/1000 inch) across the entire diameter
of the cooling plate (where the gap is filled with air). In
reality, with silicon-carbide materials, the tolerance is no better
than two to three tenths and with aluminum materials the tolerance
is no better than 5 tenths or more. Therefore, depending upon how
tightly the cooling plate 74 and the thermally conductive rings 75
are fastened together, the ceiling 52 can experience an excessive
temperature difference across its diameter.
What is needed is an interface between the cooling plate 74 and
each thermally conductive ring 75 which permits the cold plate 74
to be hinged upwardly from the thermally conductive rings 75
(without having to break any electrical or gas or coolant
connections or couplings) and which provides uniform thermal
contact resistance. Such rapid removability is necessary for
periodic maintenance or replacement of the ceiling. Therefore,
attempting to provide an interface having uniform thermal contact
resistance by bonding the thermally conductive rings 75 to the cold
plate 74 is not a viable solution, as this would prevent
removability. Uniformity of thermal contact resistance could be
enhanced by employing a soft aluminum material in the gap 74', but
this would require too great a compressive force between the cold
plate 74 and the thermally conductive rings 75 (because of the
large variation in the width of the gap 74' across the cold plate
74). Uniformity of contact resistance could be enhanced by
employing a thermally conductive grease in the gaps 74', but this
would be too messy and risk high contaminant levels in the plasma
process.
We have found that employing a thermally conductive elastically
deforming material such as Grafoil as a thermally conductive layer
3010 within the gap 74' compensates for the poor gap tolerances
referred to above in that it provides relatively uniform thermal
contact resistance across the diameter of the ceiling 52 without
requiring excessive compressive force between the cold plate 74 and
the thermally conductive rings 75. (Grafoil is a product sold by
UCAR Carbon Co., Inc., P.O. Box 94364, Cleveland, Ohio 44101). The
required compressive force is reduced by reducing the thickness of
the elastically deformed thermally conductive layer 3010 placed
inside the gap 74'. (The layer 3010 is elastically deformed by the
compression between the cold plate 74 and the thermally conductive
rings 75. However, the thickness of the layer 3010 cannot be
reduced beyond a minimum thickness necessary to enable the
elastically deformable thermally conductive material of the layer
3010 to compensate for a large tolerance in gap thickness. Thus,
there is a tradeoff between thickness and stiffness. To optimize
this tradeoff, we have found a preferred thickness of the
elastically deformed thermally conductive layer 3010 to be within a
range of about 0.04 to 0.16 inch and more preferably within a range
of about 0.06 to 0.125 inch.
One problem we have encountered with the elastically deformed
thermally conductive layer 3010 is that it absorbs RF power from
the inductive coils 42, 90 and shunts the heat to the cooling plate
74. We have solved this problem by placing an electrically
conductive layer 3020 between the thermally conductive layer 3010
and the thermally conductive ring 75 which reflects the RF
inductive field from the coils 42, 90, and thereby prevents
absorption of RF power by the thermally conductive layer 3010. We
prefer the electrically conductive layer 3020 be aluminum and have
a thickness on the order of approximately 1-10 mils and preferably
between about 2-3 mils. Conveniently, the supplier of Grafoil
referred to above supplies Grafoil tape with an aluminum coating on
one side of the Grafoil tape. A suitable material other than
aluminum can be used as the reflective layer 3020, such as copper,
nickel, silver or gold for example. Such a material should meet the
dual requirement of sufficient heat conductivity and high
reflectance to the inductive RF field from the coils 42, 90.
The advantages of the preferred material, aluminum-layered Grafoil
tape, for the thermally conductive layer 3010, is that it meets the
requirement for a thermally conductive material which is
elastically deformable, thin and readily separable from both the
cooling plate 74 and the thermally conductive ring 75, while its
aluminum coating provides a good reflector to the RF inductive
field.
In accordance with one possible alternative, in addition to placing
an elastically deformed thermally conductive layer 3010 between the
cooling plate 74 and the thermally conductive rings 75, thermal
contact resistance across the gap 75' between each thermally
conductive ring 75 and the semiconductor ceiling 52 could be
improved employing a similar layer of elastically deformable
thermally conductive material in the gap 75' between the ceiling 52
and each thermally conductive ring 75. Thus, an elastically
deformed thermally conductive layer 3035 (such as Grafoil) can be
placed in the gap 75' between each thermally conductive ring 75 and
the ceiling 52. However, the semiconductor ceiling 52 and the
thermally conductive rings 75 preferably constitute a single
modular assembly so that the rings 75 preferably are not separable
from the ceiling 52, because the rings 75 and the ceiling 52 are
bonded together to optimize heat transfer.
Modularity and Enhanced Productivity
Modularity (separability) is important for ease of maintenance. An
upper assembly 3040 including the cooling plate 74, the source
power coils 42, 90 and the heater lamps 72 is separately hingeable
from a lower assembly 3050 including the thermally conductive rings
75 and the semiconductor ceiling 52. The lower assembly 3050 itself
is hingeable from the chamber. The separability of the upper
assembly 3040 and the lower assembly 3050 permits the semiconductor
ceiling 52 to be replaced without breaking fluid and electrical
connections. Such replacement is necessary after processing on the
order of 100,000 wafers. The separability of the lower assembly
3050 (leaving the upper assembly attached to it) permits access to
the plasma confinement magnet modules 2010, 2020 for removal and
cleaning as well as to the chamber interior surfaces for wiping,
without having to break fluid or electrical connections. This may
be required after processing on the order of 3,000 to 4,000
wafers.
Not shown in the drawing of FIG. 27 are the hinging apparatus (for
hinging the cooling plate 74 and for hinging the ceiling 52) and
the clamping apparatus for clamping the cooling plate 74 onto the
thermally conductive rings 75 and for clamping the silicon ceiling
52 onto the magnet liner module 2010.
Electrostatic Chuck with Semiconductor Lift Pins:
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an
electrostatic chuck is enhanced with a feature which eliminates the
necessity of discharging the wafer through the plasma when
de-chucking the wafer. Conventionally, to de-chuck a wafer from an
electrostatic chuck, the following steps must be performed:
(1) release the He gas vacuum between the wafer and the
electrostatic chuck;
(2) ground the back side of the electrostatic chuck;
(3) wait until the wafer discharges through the plasma, and then
remove the wafer.
The problem with this method is that a wafer having a thick
dielectric coating slows down the discharge of the wafer through
the plasma, or prevents a thorough discharge, so that excessive
force is required to remove the wafer. Or, if too much charge has
accumulated on the wafer, the wafer cannot be thoroughly discharged
within a practical amount of time.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing problems with
conventional electrostatic chucks by providing grounded
semiconductor pins or lift pins within the chuck that are raised to
contact the backside of the wafer whenever it is desired to remove
or de-chuck the wafer. The wafer is discharged by ohmic contact or
tunneling or surface leakage from the backside of the wafer to the
semiconductor pins. Referring to FIG. 27, the electrostatic chuck
54 holds the wafer 56 down by electrostatic force through an
electric field applied across an electrostatic chuck dielectric
layer 54a between the wafer 56 and the chuck 54. The electrostatic
force may be produced by charging the electrostatic chuck 54 by
temporarily connecting it to a voltage source, as indicated in the
drawing. The electrostatic chuck 54 is enhanced with the addition
of one or more plural semiconductor lift pins 4010 extending
upwardly through the chuck 54 toward the backside of the wafer. A
lift spider 4020 supporting the opposite ends of the semiconductor
pins 4010 is moved by an actuator 4030 up or down so as to move the
semiconductor lift pins 4010 up or down as desired. In order to
de-chuck the wafer, the semiconductor lift pins are grounded and
the actuator 4030 moves the lift spider 4020 upwardly until the
semiconductor lift pins contact the backside of the wafer. The
wafer then discharges very rapidly, after which the wafer can be
removed. The advantage is that there is little or no risk of wafer
breakage during de-chucking because the wafer is thoroughly
discharged regardless of whether the wafer has a thick dielectric
coating or has a large accumulated charge. Preferably, the
semiconductor lift pins 4010 are silicon carbide, although they may
be any suitable semiconductor material such as silicon, for
example. The silicon carbide material may be formed by chemical
vapor deposition. A single such pin may suffice in many cases.
The advantage of semiconductor grounding or lift pins over metal
pins is that the conductivity of a metal is so great that a
resistor must be employed to avoid arcing at the wafer backside
surface, and even with such a resistor a metal pin provides points
along its length for arcing or gas breakdown and for shunting
currents resulting therefrom to other places in the reactor.
Moreover, metal pins are more subject to wear. In contrast,
semiconductor (e.g., silicon carbide) lift pins have a higher
electrical resistivity and therefore do not pose as great a risk
for arcing and are more durable.
Electrostatic Chuck Silicon Carbide Collar
The electrostatic chuck 54 may be further enhanced with the
addition of a silicon carbide collar 4050 around its periphery. The
silicon carbide collar 4050 may be formed by chemical vapor
deposition. The silicon carbide collar 4050 is between the
electrostatic chuck 54 and the heated silicon ring 62. The collar
4050 preferably is co-extensive in height with the electrostatic
chuck 54 as shown in the drawing. However, the collar 4050 may, in
some embodiments, extend above the plane of the chuck 54 so as to
cover the edge of the wafer supported on the chuck 54.
The semiconductor collar 4050 prevents etching of the electrostatic
chuck which otherwise could lead to contamination and force
expensive frequent replacement of the electrostatic chuck.
Moreover, the semiconductor materials of the collar 4050 is less
susceptible to etching (or etches more slowly) than other
materials, such as quartz for example.
Slit in Heated Silicon Ring
The heated silicon ring 62 may be enhanced by the provision of a
radial slit 4060 therethrough, best shown in FIG. 29. The slit 4060
permits greater thermal expansion of the silicon ring 62 without
breakage.
RF Induction Coil with Azimuthally Uniform Number of Windings
As previously disclosed in the co-pending application, an inductive
antenna may be formed of multiple co-planar circular windings (as
distinguished from a single helical winding). Each winding is
connected to its neighbor by a step in the conductor between
adjacent planes. This is illustrated in FIG. 30, in which stacked
multiple planar circular windings 5010 start with one end 5020
descending from an adjacent plane and terminate with the other end
5040 descending into the next adjoining plane. The ascending and
descending ends 5020, 5040 define a step 5060 in the monolithic
conductor 5065 from which the multiple windings 5010 are formed.
The number of windings in the stack is inherently non-uniform
because of the step 5060 in the conductor 5065. This is due, in
part, to the abrupt departure of the top winding 5010a from the
stack by its sharp turn from a direction parallel to the planes of
the windings 5010 to a perpendicular direction. Such an abrupt
departure creates a deficiency in the number of windings stacked
bottom to top, giving rise to the non-uniformity.
In accordance with the present invention, this non-uniformity is
compensated by running the bottom return leg 5070 of the conductor
5065 along an upwardly ascending arcuate path (e.g., a circular
path) extending from one end 5060a to the other end 5060b of the
step 5060 in the conductor 5065. The radius of the circular path of
the bottom return leg 5070 is such that it contributes a maximum
inductance near the step end 5060a where it is most nearly parallel
to the planes of the windings 5010 and contributes a minimum
inductance near the other step end 5060b where it is most nearly
perpendicular to the planes of the windings 5010. The smooth
transition in the inductance contribution of the bottom return leg
5070 corresponds to the transition along the length of the step
5060 in the conductor 5065 from one end 5060a having the least
number of stacked
windings (absent the return leg 5070) to the other end 5060b having
the greatest number of stacked windings. This provides optimum
uniformity in the effective number of windings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 32 shows a perspective view of a chamber body 4002 supporting,
through a hinge axis 4004, a hinge assembly, which in turn provides
a pivotable support for a chamber roof assembly 4000. Utilities
such cooling liquid, instrument wiring, process gasses, and process
power wiring are run through flexible connections, such as 4006,
which do not need to be disturbed during the normal raising hinging
of the chamber roof assembly 4000 to access the inside of the
process chamber 4008. Once the chamber is open as shown in FIG. 32,
the upper and lower chamber liners 4011, 4012 can easily be removed
as well as service provided to components in the chamber which
might require servicing (e.g., heat lamps, silicon ring, or
e-chuck). Once the chamber roof assembly 4000 has been raised those
components can easily be removed, replaced, and the chamber
returned to service quickly. The bottom side of the chamber roof
4014 can be seen in FIG. 32. The edge of the chamber roof 4014 is
captured by a lift ring 4009 which is fixed to the chamber roof
assembly 4000. Details of this connection are discussed below.
FIG. 33 shows a perspective view of an alternate service scenario,
where the chamber roof assembly 4000, is raised, but the chamber
roof 4014 is left in place. In this view can be seen the heat
transfer rings 4016, 4018, 4021, 4022. These heat transfer rings
are extensions of roof 4014, preferably are thermally conductive
members and are preferably of a silicon bearing material.
Advantageously, the rings may be prefabricated and fixed to the top
of the roof 4014. Thus, the roof 4014 and heat transfer rings 4016,
4018, 4021, 4022 comprise a chamber roof subunit. Since all chamber
topside elements except the chamber roof subunit are pivoted away,
this configuration leaves the chamber roof subunit unrestricted and
immediately removable from the chamber body 4002 for cleaning or
replacement.
A cold plate subassembly or subunit 4024 mounts all of the heating
and cooling, plasma inducing, and sensing elements for roof
assembly 4000, as may best be seen in FIGS. 33 and 37. A series of
heat lamps, e.g. 4026, 4028, 4031, in a concentric array are
mounted through the cold plate 4024 to face the top of the chamber
roof 4014. Two spring loaded temperature sensors 4032, 4034 mounted
in highly reflective guide tubes extend from the bottom of the cold
plate 4024, toward the chamber roof 4014 and contact it to sense
its temperature when the chamber roof assembly 4000 is in a closed
position. Two RF coils 4036, 4038 held in a series of brackets,
e.g., 4040, 4042, when roof assembly 4000 is lowered into place
extend between the heat transfer rings 4016, 4018 and 4021, 4022,
respectively, to closely approach the chamber roof 4014. The coils
are hollow so that cooling liquid circulates through them. The
brackets, e.g., 4040, 4042, engaging and locating the coils are
connected to the cold plate 4024. The brackets are made of a high
temperature tolerant and RF transparent material, such as a high
temperature plastic.
FIG. 34 shows a top view of the cold plate 4024, showing locations
where the heater lamps are mounted generally equally spaced in a
circular pattern around the center of the cold plate. A heater lamp
4031 and the heater lamps in a first ring 4044 of heater lamps
(including for example heater lamp 4028 and the center lamp 4031)
comprise a first heating zone. An extra hole, e.g., 4046, through
the cold plate 4024 is provided, between the heater lamps to
provide for mounting of temperature sensors and/or access to the
top of the chamber roof. Rotatably and linearly compliant spring
loaded sensors are use to assure a good thermal contact. So that
readings from the thermal sensors are as accurate as possible and
are not distorted by exposure to the heat lamps mounted in the
adjacent mounting holes, e.g. 4032, the thermal sensors are mounted
within highly reflective and thermally conductive housings which
extend from the cold plate into close proximity with the top of the
chamber roof 4014, thus shielding the end of the sensor and its
wiring from direct exposure to the radiation from the heat lamps.
The cold plate 4024, to which the thermally conductive housings,
e.g. 4042, 4034 are mounted conducts heat away rapidly through the
cooling media circulating through it.
An outer heat lamp circle 4054 locates the heater lamps for an
second heating zone. Again, within this outer circle 4054 of
mounting holes, the heater lamps, e.g., 4026, are mounted
approximately equally spaced from one another, and an extra
opening, e.g., 4056 is provided for mounting of temperature sensors
or other access to the top of the chamber roof 4014. The first
heating zone is controlled separately from the second heating zone,
as already described previously.
The cold plate 4024 is mounted to the chamber roof assembly 4000
through a series of three support locations 4062, 4064, 4066 which
are oriented 120 degree from each other from the center of the cold
plate 4024. The cold plate is not rigidly fixed to the chamber roof
assembly, but is attached through a spring and stop linkage as will
be described below.
Coil feed through openings 4068, 4070 in the cold plate are
provided so that the two end connections of both the inner coil
4038 and the outer coil 4036 are fed through their respective feed
through opening, 4068, 4070. The two end connectors of each coil
each are connected to an electrical (RF) power source and to a
liquid cooling circuit (the coils being constructed, for example of
a hollow tubing.
The cold plate also includes peripheral slots 4073, 4075, 4077,
which provide a passage for thumbscrews which can selectively clamp
the chamber roof assembly 4000 to the upper lift ring 4009 (not
shown in FIG. 34). The lift ring/thumbscrew arrangement is
described below. The peripheral slots are located 120 degrees from
one another and are 60 degrees offset from the support locations
mounting the cold plate 4024 to the chamber roof assembly 4000.
FIG. 35 is a schematic cross sectional view of the sealing and
connection arrangement between the chamber body 4002 and the roof
assembly 4000 including the chamber roof 4014. A lower liner module
4072 is located in the periphery of the chamber body 4002. An upper
liner module 4074 acts to bridge and seal the gap between the
chamber body 4002 and the chamber roof 4014, and includes features
to create a vacuum limit for the processing chamber. The vacuum
limit being the envelope inside of which a process chamber vacuum
is maintained and outside of which ambient atmospheric pressure is
present. In this configuration the vacuum limit is defined at the
O-rings 4076, 4078, sealing between the pieces. The upper liner
module 4074 has a "Z" shaped cross section. The outer flange 4080
overlapping the top of the upper edge of the lower body member
4002. The outer flange 4080 includes a groove for the O-ring 4078
and a groove for receiving a compliant electrical connecting ring
4082 (RF gasket). The inner flange 4084 also has the O-ring 4076
and a groove for receiving a compliant electrical connecting ring
4087 (RF gasket). The chamber roof is preferably made of silicon,
or some other similarly brittle material, although it may also be
made of any other material suitable for a chamber plasma processing
enclosure, chamber roofs of silicon based or other brittle need to
be protected from stress concentrations which may tend to crack
such materials. In sealing of the bottom of the chamber roof 4014
to the top of the inner flange 4084 of the upper liner module 4074
it is preferred that there be no direct contact between the
aluminum material of the 4074 and the silicon material of the
chamber roof 4014. The sealing O-ring 4076 protrudes beyond the
surface of the inner flange 4084 and supports the chamber roof 4014
above the top surface of the inner flange, with a gap therebetween.
In the event that the O-ring were to fail through for example
oxidation due to an over temperature condition, or if the
installation of the O-ring were to be overlooked by a technician,
the aluminum surface of the inner flange 4084 of the upper liner
module could directly contact the bottom surface of the chamber
roof flange 4014a, which will cause high stress concentrations
between the surfaces and possible cracking. To safeguard against
such an occurrence a polymer based (nylon like) high temperature
tolerant "L" shaped insert 4086 is provided at the flange surface
adjacent to the O-ring and RF gasket 4076, 4086 grooves.
In FIG. 35, the lift ring 4009 is shown floating. It is located
above the outer flange 4080 of the upper liner module 4074 and
below a support flange 4001 of the chamber roof assembly 4000. A
thumbscrew 4088 having a large shank 4090, a narrow shank 4092, a
threaded section 4094, and enlarged end 4096, is located in a
thumbscrew opening 4098 of the chamber roof assembly 4000. The
thumbscrew 4088 is spring loaded to move upwards by a spring 4100
(only a portion of which is shown--it abuts the bottom of the
enlarged end 4096 and the top of the support flange 4001. When the
thumbscrew 4088 is pushed down it threaded section 4094 engages a
threaded opening 4102 in the lift ring 4009. When the thumbscrew
4088 is tightened the lift ring 4009 is brought into a tightly
clamped relationship with the support flange 4001 (See FIG. 38). A
compliant insert 4104 (plastic, nylon or other similar material
with a high temperature tolerance) is fixed to the lift ring 4009,
by screws (not shown) and prevents the aluminum lift ring 4009,
from directly contacting the silicon chamber roof 4014 or its lift
flange 4014b. The thumbscrew assembly as described above is
situated to pass through a peripheral slot, e.g., 4075, as viewed
in FIG. 34.
FIG. 35 also pictures a close-up of the construction of the chamber
roof 4014 and its interface with the cold plate 4024. The chamber
roof 4014 is bonded to the heat transfer rings, e.g., 4022, through
a thermally conductive adhesive or bond which generally provides a
permanent bond between each of the heat transfer rings and the top
of the chamber roof 4014. The top of each of the heat transfer
rings, e.g., 4022, is covered with a compliant thermally conductive
heat transfer material, e.g., Grafoil--4108, which is in turn
pressed (clamped) against the top of the heat transfer rings by the
cold plate 4024. As can be seen in FIG. 35, the cold plate 4024
supports the heat lamps, e.g. 4026, an outside barrier wall
(reflector) 4106, the induction coils, e.g., the outer--4036, and
the coil support brackets, e.g., 4042.
FIG. 36 shows a schematic cross section of a set of spring members
suspending the cold plate 4024 from the support flange 4001 of the
chamber roof assembly 4000 and urging the cold plate 4024 into
contact with the chamber roof subunit. The clamping members are
shown on opposite sides of the Figure for clarity, even though they
are actually oriented 120 degrees from one another. The cold plate
4024 includes a clamping flange 4110 having holes at support
locations, e.g., 4064 in FIG. 34, through which a clamping/guide
stud 4112 is positioned. The clamping/guide stud 4112 is fixed to
the support flange 4001 of the chamber roof assembly 4000. An
alignment portion 4114 of the clamping/guide stud 4112 extends
below the support flange 4001 and cooperates with the upper liner
module 4074 to provide a circular reference alignment. The
alignment portion 4114, may be offset from the longitudinal axis of
said clamping/guide stud 4112 to help prevent it rotation when the
nut 4116 at the top of the clamping/guide stud 4112 is
tightened.
The spring support of the cold plate 4024, to the roof in one mode
and away from the roof in another mode is described as follows.
Uniform temperature across the chamber roof 4014, requires that
there be a generally uniform supply and removal of thermal energy
across the with of the chamber roof 4014. The supply is done by
controlling the intensity of heat/lamps, e.g., 4026, whose
radiative effect is minimally affected by small changes in distance
between the lamp and the roof of the chamber as the mechanism for
heat transfer is not dependent on maintaining a bond between
adjacent members. This is in contrast to the cooling mode
associated with temperature control of the chamber roof 4014, where
the heat removal path is by conduction through the heat transfer
rings 4016, 4018, 4021, 4022, through a gap, e.g., 4020 shown by
the arrows 4118, 4119, through a compliant thermal transfer
material placed in the gap, but not shown in FIG. 36 and to the
cold plate 4024. The gap 4020 and others between the top of the
heat transfer rings 4016, 4018, 4021, 4022, are partially filled
with a compliant heat transfer material. One such material is
Grafoil, earlier discussed. Such a material has a low crush
resistance, and the uniformity of thermal heat transfer across such
an interface is partially dependent on the clamping pressure and
surface contact pressure between adjacent members. Premature
crushing or distortion of parts of the compliant material may
create gaps or distortions in the material which greatly affect the
thermal conduction and greatly distort the temperature distribution
(uniformity ) across the chamber roof. To avoid such anomalies, a
structure which uniformly maintains the contact between members
across the gap 4020 containing the compliant thermal transfer
material is provided. With a uniform thickness of compliant thermal
transfer material in each of the gaps between the tops of the heat
transfer rings and the bottom of the cold plate 4024, both of which
have been planarized to a very flat tolerance, e.g., as done by a
lathe cut, the cold plate 4024 is gently positioned over the rings
of the roof and guided by the clamping/guide studs, e.g., 112. The
chamber roof assembly 4000 and chamber body 4002 are clamped in a
closed relationship by a latch, e.g., a portion of which is shown
as 4124, on the opposite side from the hinge axis 4004 of the
chamber assembly. A release spring 4120 provides a separating force
between the support flange 4001 of the chamber roof assembly and
the clamping flange 4112 of the cold plate 4024. The release spring
4120 supports the cold plate 4024 separated from the heat transfer
rings of the chamber roof 4014. The release spring 4120 provides an
upward separating force to lift the cold plate when the clamping
springs are released. A clamping spring 4122 is positioned on top
of the clamping flange 4112 of the cold plate 4024 and acts between
the bottom of the nut 4116 and the top of the clamping flange 4112,
as the nuts, e.g., 4116, around the perimeter of the chamber are
progressively and incrementally tightened to increasingly higher
torque ratings. The initial tightening causes the force of the
release spring to be overcome so that the cold plate 4024 descends
evenly to contact and press against the top of the compliant heat
transfer material in the gaps between the heat transfer rings and
the cold plate. Then because the clamping spring 4122 is a much
more substantial spring, having a higher spring rate, with a large
clamping distance, the force of release spring 4120 is overcome and
uniform crushing of the compliant heat transfer material over the
roof takes place as the nuts on the various clamping/guide studs,
e.g., 4112, are tightened to a maximum clamping force value. The
thermal connection between the chamber roof 4014 and the cold plate
is there thereby assured, until the clamping force urging the cold
plate 4024 toward the chamber roof is removed.
One configuration where a release of the clamping force would occur
would be when the chamber roof 4014 is supported by the chamber
body 4002 and the latch holding the chamber roof assembly 4000 and
chamber body 4002 together, is released. The spring force clamping
the cold plate 4024 to the top of the thermal transfer rings, e.g.,
4016, is released and the cold plate separates from the chamber
roof as the chamber roof assembly rotates about the hinge axis 4004
of the hinge assembly. The cold plate and all the structures
supported by it are removed from the proximity of the chamber roof
and the coils and other elements on the bottom of the cold plate
can be easily accessed. Similarly, the chamber roof is free
unfettered by connection to any utilities and can be removed and
replaced in a straightforward lifting operation.
FIG. 38 shows a schematic cross sectional view of the cold plate
4024 clamped to the top of the chamber roof 4014. The lift ring
4009 is clamped tightly to the support flange 4001 of the chamber
roof assembly 4000 by thumbscrews, e.g., 4088. In this
configuration, even though the lift ring 4009 is tightly clamped to
the support flange 4001, it is loosely situated around the outside
of the chamber roof 4014, and a ring gap 4126. A small fraction of
an inch exists between the top of the compliant insert 4104 of the
lift ring 4009, and the bottom of the chamber roof lift flange
4014b. Upon release of the latch 4124, the chamber roof assembly
4000 will again start to rise away from the chamber body 4002 as
the clamping spring 4122 presses the cold plate 4024 downward and
toward the support flange 4001.
FIG. 39 shows that the vertical movement of the chamber roof
assembly is
stopped as the upper edge of the lift ring assembly comes into
contact with the lift flange 4014b of the chamber roof 4014,
eliminating the ring gap 4126 that formerly existed there. The lift
ring 4009 then prevents further extension of the clamping springs.
e.g., 4122, and a high level of clamping force across the compliant
heat transfer material in the gap 4020 is maintained, while the
vertical dimension of the gap is unaffected. The clamping spring
4122 has been extended by the former vertical dimension of the ring
gap 4026, which is a very small change considering that the
clamping spring has an installed length of several inches. The
heavy black arrows 4128, 4130, 4132, 4134 show the forces and their
approximate origin, clamping the chamber roof 4014 and cold plate
together.
FIG. 40 shows an example of the configuration of FIG. 39 being
further hinged upwards toward an orientation as shown in FIG.
32.
The vertically compliant and clamping arrangement of the cold plate
must be accommodated by all of the utility connections to the cold
plate. The wiring connections to the heat lamps and the cooling
liquid hoses to the cooling fluid passages (fluid circulating
lines) in the cold plate are well understood in the art. The high
power RF supply connectors supply power to the RF coils 4036, 4038.
Each coil has two end connections, e.g., 4136, 4138, which are
connected to a cooling fluid source or loop through flexible piping
or tubing 4140, 4142, which preferably is electrically
nonconducting. In addition electrical power is supplied to the coil
ends by clamping a set of vertically flexibly mounted bus bars
4144, 4146 (RF supply connectors) to the side of the coil tubes
through which the cooling liquid is flowing. As the coils move up
and down with the cold plate 4024, the connections to utilities are
not affected. Those connections which require replacement are
equipped with quick disconnect connectors to facilitate quick and
easy maintenance.
A workpiece (substrate) 4148 supported on a generally flat pedestal
4150 as previously discussed extensively in the specification
above, is located opposite the chamber roof 4014.
While the invention has been described with regards to specific
embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes
can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention.
* * * * *